Strong combo data for AstraZeneca's Crestor

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca welcomed data from a new study presented at the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis, held in Rome, Italy, showing that 40mg of its cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor (rosuvastatin), in combination with 10mg of Schering-Plough's Zetia (ezetimibe), produced a 70% reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the largest ever seen in a clinical trial.

The London, UK-headquartered pharmaceutical major says that these lastest findings add to clinical data which "consistently shows" Crestor to be the "most effective statin" at lowering LDL cholesterol. The firm hopes that data from the 12-week, 469-patient, randomized, EXPLORER trial, will repair any damage done to its profile by other data presented at the ISA 2006, showing that Merck & Co/Schering-Plough's Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) is the leading cholesterol lowerer (see story above).

At six weeks, the drugs reduced mean LDL cholesterol levels at baseline from 4.89mmo/L to 1.47mmol/L vs Crestor monotherapy, which reduced mean LDL to 2.11mmol/L. Principal investigator Christie Ballantyne said: "EXPLORER shows that a treatment regimen using rosuvastatin as a base and adding-on ezetimibe can help even the difficult-to-treat patients achieve optimal cholesterol targets."