Merck & Co’s embattled Vytorin franchise faces another test next week when results will be published from a trial that pitted one component of the combination cholesterol lowering pill against Abbott’s Niaspan. The study, called Arbiter 6, set out to examine which therapy was more effective at unblocking clogged arteries, and commentators widely expect that Niaspan will emerge victorious.

Still, consensus sales forecasts for the product have not risen over the last 18 months, whilst at the same time analysts have gradually been chipping away at their Vytorin figures. This seems to support a theory that Merck has more to lose from this trial than Abbott has to gain, in sentiment terms at the very least. However, a glowing success for Niaspan reinforcing the benefits of raising levels of good or HDL cholesterol would certainly be helpful for Abbott, which has invested heavily in its franchise of drugs which do exactly that.