Crestor Should Be Used As Last Resort

FDA Official and UK Medicine Regulators Expressed Worries Over Crestor

AstraZeneca's cholesterol-lowering statin drug Crestor should only be used as a last resort, according to FDA's Dr. David Graham. Though statins have been associated with rhabdomyolysis in the past, according to Dr. Graham, Crestor has a "unique toxicity" in that adverse side effects include muscle wasting and kidney failure. "Crestor should only be used as a second line drug when people have failed to respond to other statins," says Dr. Graham.

Authorities at the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), when reviewing advice from experts at the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM), show that the original advice from CSM said the 40 mg dose of Crestor should not go on the market. Minutes of MHRA meetings reveal it has seen higher rates of rhabdomyolysis in patients on Crestor compared with other statin drugs.

There are a number of studies being conducted about the safety of Crestor and results should be published in 2005.

In May 2004, AstraZeneca sent a Dear Doctor letter to UK health professionals urging them to recommend the 10 mg dose for new patients when prescribing Crestor and Crestor's European label was changed in June 2004 due to safety concerns.

Read more on our Crestor Information Page >>