Crestor Side Effects Pose Danger
U.S. researchers reported Monday, May 23, 2005, that the cholesterol-lowering drug
Crestor has more than double the side effects of rival statin drugs,
including deaths. AstraZeneca PLC strongly disagrees with the
study’s conclusions about its drug, which consumer advocates tried
to have removed from store shelves earlier in the year.
In March, the
Food and Drug Administration contended that
Crestor's
risks were no greater than its competitors. Still, the FDA ordered a
warning on the label, saying Crestor could cause serious muscle
problems and kidney damage, especially among Asians.
However,
a
team of researchers of the Tuft-New England Medical Center in Boston
found that Crestor’s side effects were indeed worse: The drug has a
rate of 28 adverse events per million prescriptions. That is about
2.2 times more than the adverse events seen with simvastatin, made
by Merck & Co. under the brand name Zocor and 6.8 times higher than
atorvastatin, made by Pfizer Inc., under the brand name Lipitor.
Researchers also found that there were 6 per million deaths on
Crestor as compared to 3 per million for Zocor, 1 per million with
Bristol Myers Squibb’s Pravachol and 2 per million for Lipitor.
Adverse events
include muscle damage known as myopathy, including a severe form
known as rhabdomyolysis; proteinuria or protein in the urine;
nephropathy, a reduced ability of the kidneys to filter toxins from
the blood; and kidney failure.
In August 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved
Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium), the latest of six cholesterol
reducing drugs called statins. Crestor was approved as an adjunct
therapy accompanied by a low-cholesterol diet and exercise program
to reduce the overall level of bad cholesterol in the blood stream.
It was also touted for raising levels of High-Density Lipoprotein
Cholesterol (HDL-C) – good cholesterol – in many cases.
Another statin, Baycol, was pulled from the market in 2001 after it
was linked to more 100 deaths, many of them from rhabdomyolysis – a
life-threatening muscle deterioration.
CRESTOR LAWYERS /
ATTORNEYS
If
you or a loved one have suffered from the dangerous side effects of Crestor, you should consider receiving a free legal evaluation from
an experienced Crestor lawyer. For a free evaluation of your
situation please complete the following form and a Crestor attorney
will contact you promptly -- free of charge.
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