CRESTOR Delivers Superior Efficacy in Achievement of Low LDL-C Targets in New VOYAGER Analysis

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AstraZeneca

29 Aug, 2011, 06:30 GMT

PARIS, August 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

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- This release is not intended for US and Canadian media

AstraZeneca today announced the results of a sub-analysis from the VOYAGER individual patient data meta-analysis, which demonstrated that the possibility of reaching the 100 mg/dL LDL-C goal with statin treatment is dependent upon baseline LDL-C and the choice and dose of statin. CRESTOR™ (rosuvastatin) helped more patients reach an LDL-C goal of <100mg/dL than patients taking equal or double doses (in mg) of atorvastatin (Lipitor®). The improvement became more pronounced with increasing baseline levels of LDL-C. These findings were presented at the 2011 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Paris, France.

     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20110829/476351 )


This sub-analysis was designed to determine the importance of baseline LDL-C and the choice and dose of statin in LDL-C goal achievement. Additional findings from this VOYAGER sub-analysis include:

  • LDL-C <100 mg/dL was achieved by 53.7% to 85.5% of patients treated with CRESTOR 10-40 mg, compared with 43.3% to 80.0% of those treated with atorvastatin 10-80 mg.
  • Similar differences in efficacy favouring CRESTOR over equal or double doses in mg of atorvastatin were observed across the range of baseline LDL-C levels.

"These data provide physicians with further evidence of the benefits of CRESTOR. These findings also reinforce CRESTOR as an important medication that helps get more patients to recommended treatment targets," said Dr. Torbjörn Lundström, Global Medical Science Director for CRESTOR.

These results are consistent with the findings from the primary VOYAGER analysis, which showed that CRESTOR resulted in significantly greater improvements in LDL-C in all comparisons with equal or greater doses of atorvastatin and simvastatin. These data are especially relevant in light of the newest European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidaemias, which continues to stress the importance of achieving aggressive LDL-C treatment goals in higher risk patients and the important role of statins in achieving these goals.

Under the new ESC/EAS guidelines, target LDL-C goals have become more stringent, particularly for patients with established cardiovascular disease, and for those who are classified as being at very high risk of a primary or secondary cardiovascular event.The ESC/EAS guidelines recommend that clinicians should aim for LDL-C levels below <3.0 mmol/L (~115 mg/dL) in moderate risk patients, <2.5 mmol/L (~100 mg/dL) in high risk patients and <1.8 mmol/L (~70 mg/dL) and/or at least 50 percent reduction in levels if this target cannot be reached in very high risk patients.

NOTES TO EDITORS

VOYAGER (An indiVidual patient data meta-analysis Of statin therapY in At risk Groups: Effects of Rosuvastatin, atorvastatin and simvastatin) is a unique individual patient data meta-analysis of 32 258 patients from 37 randomised studies comparing the lipid modifying effects of rosuvastatin with that of atorvastatin and simvastatin. The patients include almost 9,000 with diabetes and over 15,000 with atherosclerotic disease.

CRESTOR has now received regulatory approvals in over 109 countries. Worldwide, doctors have written nearly 330 million prescriptions for CRESTOR. Data from clinical trials and real world use shows that the safety profile for rosuvastatin is in line with that of other marketed statins.

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