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Tagged with: astrazeneca, cholesterol Thursday, April 16, 2009, 15:27 This news item was posted in Industry, Pharma category and has 3 Comments so far.
AstraZeneca launched its block-buster anti-cholesterol medication Crestor (rosuvastatin) in India, fuelling more competition in the countrys fast-emerging statins market. AstraZeneca India introduced rosuvastatin pills in 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg strengths in India, on Wednesday. Crestor is indicated for use in the treatment of dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis and primary hypercholesterolaemia. Dyslipidemia is a clinical condition characterized by an elevation of cholesterol and/or triglycerides in the bloodstream. Over 69% of patients with coronary heart disease, even those currently on medications, remain above the targeted levels for cholesterol. AstraZenecas launch of Crestor in India achieves greater significance at this point of time because the cardiovascular disease occurrence in the sub-continent is peaking to an all time high with the increasing population of rich urban middle-class. Estimates suggest that by the year 2020 India will have the largest cardiovascular disease burden in the world and account for one third of all deaths, with one fifth of the deaths in India resulting from coronary heart disease. Heart disease in India occurs 8 to 10 years earlier than in the West. Even women are prone to the risk as one in four women in urban India and every eighth woman in rural India is suffering from high cholesterol. We are delighted to introduce Crestor, the original rosuvastatin in India, said Anandh Balasundaram, managing director, AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. We believe that Crestor offers an important treatment option for the large patient pool who are either untreated or not at target cholesterol levels. The launch of Crestor is in line with our India strategy to bring global brands to India at prices affordable for Indian patients. Crestor (rosuvastatin) is a new member of the cholesterol-lowering statin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) class of drug therapy. In addition to its LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or bad cholesterol lowering effects, Crestor, has been shown to provide a significant increase in HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or good cholesterol. For the first time a statin could slow down and reverse the progression of atherosclerosis, the leading cause of heart attack and stroke. Atherosclerosis is the term used to describe the process when plaque, composed of cholesterol, fatty substances, builds up on the inside walls of the arteries. As plaque builds, it hardens and narrows the arteries, which can eventually lead to cardiovascular disease often causing chest pain (angina) heart attack, heart failure and stroke.
producer of lovastatin and some its major customers in India include Alembic Chemicals, Dr Reddys Laboratories, RPG Life Sciences, Sun Pharma, Unichem Laboratories, and Wockhardt. AstraZeneca claims the clinical development program for Crestor as the largest program ever submitted to evaluate a statin initially. In multiple clinical studies, Crestor has been shown to be more effective in lowering LDL-cholesterol than currently prescribed statins, these studies have been published in leading international medical journals. Evidence collected from over 30,000 patients who have taken Crestor demonstrates that it is well tolerated with a safety profile comparable to that of other statins. AstraZeneca is one of the worlds leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of US$ 31.6 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines. AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited (AZPIL), has products in seven major therapeutic areas Oncology, Cardiovascular, Maternal Healthcare, Gastrointerstinal, Infection, Respiratory & Neuroscience and a world-class manufacturing unit conforming to WHO current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd. (AZIPL) also has the centre of excellence established in 1996, an integrated part of the AstraZeneca R&D network, focused on discovering novel drugs or therapies for tuberculosis. In addition, a recently constructed state-of-the-art Process R&D facility, built adjacent to the R&D facility, commenced operations to help AstraZeneca maximize the scientific interactions and enable shared use of the R&D infrastructure.