Physicians expect higher Rxing post JUPITOR study

Just three days after the JUPITER trial results were presented at the American Heart Association meeting, held in New Orleans, and simultaneously published on-line by the New England Journal of Medicine (Marketletter November 17), an AlphaDetail survey of more than 100 primary care physicians shows that they anticipate a 14% increase in the use of drug therapy among their hypercholesterolemia patients, particularly for low-to-moderate risk patients.

The JUPITER study showed that Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca's Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) 20mg significantly reduced major cardiovascular events by 44% compared with placebo among men and women with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) but low to normal low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

News about JUPITER spread quickly: two-thirds of the physicians surveyed were already aware of the study results within days of its release. Nearly 90% of the those surveyed said that they found the study results to be positive, emphasizing how compelling they found the findings. However, some physicians feel more data is needed and question if this benefit applies to all statins or is specific to Crestor.