Trial
REVEAL
Status Completed 2017; positive, drug discontinued anyway
The largest CETP trial ever run: 30,449 patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease, all on intensive atorvastatin, randomised to anacetrapib 100 mg daily or placebo, primary completion January 2017. It met its primary endpoint, the only CETP inhibitor ever to do so. Merck discontinued development regardless.
REVEAL is the proof that inhibiting CETP can reduce major coronary events, and the reason the class was not abandoned after ACCELERATE. It is also a cautionary tale about what a positive trial is worth when the effect size is modest and the molecule has a pharmacokinetic problem: anacetrapib accumulates in adipose tissue and remains detectable long after dosing stops.
anacetrapiboutcomes trialsphase 3
Page updated 18 August 2026.