AstraZeneca PLC and Abbott Laboratories said on Thursday that they have submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration, seeking the approval of a drug that combines their cholesterol pills Crestor and TriLipix respectively. The companies said that the combination, called 'Certriad' - manufactured by Belgian drugmaker Solvay SA and Abbott - would be effective in controlling both "good" and "bad" levels of cholesterol.

Specifically speaking, London-based AstraZeneca's Crestor is a statin drug that lowers bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol; Abbott's TriLipix is part of a class of drugs called fibrates that raises "good" HDL cholesterol and reduces triglycerides and "bad" LDL cholesterol.

According to the application submitted by the companies, the combined drug is for the treatment of dyslipidemia - a disorder which is typified by elevated cholesterol and blood-stream fat triglycerides. As per the American Heart Association, over 100 million adults in the US suffer from the disorder.

Furthermore, going by a PR Newswire statement, AstraZeneca also intends participating in the US promotion of TriLipix, which like Abbott and Solvay's drug TriCor helps reducing artery-clogging fats in the blood.

Talking about AstraZeneca's ventures in the near future, the company spokesman Chris Sampson said in an e-mail: "We're actively on the lookout for opportunities of any size that make sense for the business and our shareholders."

(via TopNews. Contributed by Carina Rose)