Several pharmaceutical companies are developing new lipid lowering drugs that act by inhibiting cholesterol absorption. Dr H. Davis, from Schering Plough, US, discussed his company's compound ezetimibe. He said that the drug inhibited both dietary and biliary cholesterol absorption. Dr Davis reported studies in which ezetimibe inhibited the normal rise in LDL cholesterol in monkeys fed a western diet, without affecting HDL or triglyceride levels. He suggested that combining the drug with a statin might give additional lowering of LDL. Hepatic synthesis of cholesterol was increased with ezetimibe but this could be blocked by statin therapy.