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The Guardian

AstraZeneca said yesterday that European doctors must start patients on the lowest dosage of Crestor, its cholesterol lowering drug, because of concerns about a rare muscle-wasting condition. Crestor is AstraZeneca's most important drug. Chief executive Sir Tom McKillop has promised it can swallow a fifth of the statins market which is valued at above $15bn.
The labelling change was requested by European regulatory authorities who said all patients should start on the lowest 10mg dose and only move to 20mg after a minimum of four weeks. Its highest dose of 40mg should not be given to patients predisposed to losing muscle mass.
The company played down the significance of the labelling change, saying only 4% of patients took the 40mg dose. A London analyst said Crestor's great efficacy compared with other statins meant that fewer patients need to take higher doses.
There have been other concerns over Crestor. Medco, which manages the drug insurance benefits of 60 million Americans, left it off its recommended list in March because of safety concerns according to analysts.

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