Crestor wins atherosclerosis indication

Executive Summary

FDA approval of AstraZeneca's Crestor (rosuvastatin) to slow the progression of atherosclerosis in patients with elevated cholesterol will give the statin a point of differentiation over competitors like Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin), Merck/Schering-Plough's Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) and generic simvastatin (Zocor), Commercial Brand Leader Lisa Nanfra says in an interview with "The Pink Sheet." FDA approved Crestor "as adjunctive therapy to diet to slow the progression of atherosclerosis in adult patients as part of a treatment strategy to lower Total-C and LDL-C to target levels," AstraZeneca announces Nov. 9. The approval was based on data from AstraZeneca's METEOR study, which measured the effects of Crestor on plaque buildup in the arteries using carotid intima-media thickness; the data was released earlier in the year (1"The Pink Sheet" April 9, 2007, p. 13)...