AstraZeneca didn't get its coveted results from the long-awaited CORONA trial. Crestor failed to show any statistically significant benefit in heart failure patients. So Crestor lacks a competitive edge enjoyed by rival Lipitor and generic statins: Trials that show a clear reduction in deaths and heart disease.
It was a long shot, really; heart failure isn't generally considered to be relieved by statins like Crestor. But AZ wanted something different from the old, tried-and-true data that shows the drugs stave off complications from heart disease. A head-to-head trial against Lipitor would have cost beaucoups, and it would have been risky to boot. What if Lipitor had come out ahead?
- take a look at AstraZeneca's press release [1]
- read the analysis [2] from The Wall Street Journal
- read the Hemscott report [3]
Related Articles:
AZ hit with Crestor patent challenge. Report [4]
Crestor less safe than competing statins. Report [5]
Top 5 layoffs of 2007--AstraZeneca. Report [6]
AstraZeneca lays out road map for recovery. Report [7]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/press-release-new-data-examines-effect-adding-statin-optimised-treatment-patients-adv
[2] http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/11/05/crestor-comes-up-short-in-heart-failure/
[3] http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=52587579801870
[4] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/az-hit-with-crestor-patent-challenge/2007-11-01?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=link
[5] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/crestor-less-safe-than-competing-statins/2005-05-24
[6] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/special-reports/2-astrazeneca
[7] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/astrazeneca-lays-out-road-map-for-recovery/2006-06-08