29th October 2004
Emily Denney, a spokesperson for drugmaker AstraZeneca, responded that the company keeps close watch of safety reports for the drug and "we feel ever more confident with Crestor."
She said a company analysis of FDA data indicated that, compared to other statins, Crestor was about average for kidney failure as a percentage of side effects.
Data provided by AstraZeneca indicated that kidney failure made up 3.5 percent of adverse events for Crestor — known by the generic name rosuvastatin — compared to 5.7 percent for lovastatin, 4.0 percent for simvastatin and fluvastatin, 3.0 percent for pravastatin and 2.2 percent for atorvastatin.
There was no immediate response to Wolfe's letter from the FDA.
She said a company analysis of FDA data indicated that, compared to other statins, Crestor was about average for kidney failure as a percentage of side effects.
Data provided by AstraZeneca indicated that kidney failure made up 3.5 percent of adverse events for Crestor — known by the generic name rosuvastatin — compared to 5.7 percent for lovastatin, 4.0 percent for simvastatin and fluvastatin, 3.0 percent for pravastatin and 2.2 percent for atorvastatin.
There was no immediate response to Wolfe's letter from the FDA.