AstraZeneca fails in bid to block Crestor generics

21 July 2016

AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) has failed to convince a US judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the approval of new generic versions of the company’s blockbuster cholesterol drug Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) in the USA.

The judge ruled that the Anglo-Swedish pharma major was unlikely to win a lawsuit claiming it should get seven more years of exclusive rights to the drug thanks to its recent approval to treat a rare pediatric illness, Reuters reported.

Crestor, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of high cholesterol in 2003, was responsible for more than 20% of AstraZeneca's $23.6 billion in sales last year.

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