CETP and atherosclerosis: Torcetrapib was the first CETP inhibitor developed after it was shown that CETP inhibition prevented development of atherosclerosis in CETP expressing rabbits.22 Subsequently, in early-phase clinical studies, torcetrapib showed increase of HDL-C by 60–100%, while concordantly lowering LDL-C by up to 20%.54 Its Phase 3 trial, ILLUMINATE, investigated the effect of torcetrapib 60 mg once daily in a randomized, double-blind fashion.54 In total, 15 067 patients were included randomized to either atorvastatin alone or torcetrapib plus atorvastatin.