Muraglitazar
Muraglitazar is a dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist with affinity to PPARα and PPARγ.
The drug had completed phase III clinical trials, however in May 2006 Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that it had discontinued further development.
Data on muraglitazar is relatively sparse due to the brief introduction and subsequent abandonment of this agent. One double-blind randomized clinical trial comparing muraglitazar and pioglitazone found that the effects of the former were favourable in terms of HDL-C increase, decrease in total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, triglycerides and a greater reduction in HbA1c. However, the muraglitazar group had a higher all-cause mortality, greater incidence of edema and heart failure and more weight gain compared to the pioglitazone group. A meta-analysis of the phase II and III clinical trials of muraglitazar revealed that it was associated with a greater incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, transient [ischemic attack]s and congestive heart failure when compared to placebo or pioglitazone.