Torcetrapib is designed to raise levels of so-called good cholesterol.
The drug, which Pfizer has been developing since 1998, raises so-called good cholesterol.
The level of his L.D.L., the so-called bad cholesterol, was very high at 177.
Clinical trials show that torcetrapib substantially raises the levels of so-called good cholesterol, a novel approach to preventing heart attacks and strokes.
Pfizer has also run into unexpected problems with torcetrapib, a drug meant to raise so-called good cholesterol.
Trans fats are considered harmful because they both lower so-called good cholesterol and raise levels of bad cholesterol.
A study found that drinking decaffeinated coffee raises levels of the so-called bad cholesterol in the blood.
It is unclear whether torcetrapib's failure suggests that other drugs aimed at raising the so-called good cholesterol will also face unexpected problems in trials.
His cholesterol was 233, with a low-density lipoprotein level, the so-called bad cholesterol, of 177.
In small trials so far, the drug has sharply increased levels of HDL, the so-called good cholesterol.