Mixed results for AstraZeneca in study comparing Crestor with Lipitor

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) presented mixed results from a study comparing its cholesterol lowerer Crestor (rosuvastatin) to all time blockbuster drug Lipitor (atorvastatin) from Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), at the American Heart Association meeting this week. Although Crestor outperformed Lipitor, which is set to face generic competition in the USA at the end of this month, on some measures it failed to demonstrate overall superiority.

Results from the SATURN (Study of Coronary Atheroma by InTravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin Versus AtorvastatiN) study, which demonstrated that aggressive treatment with a statin can lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) to an average of 70mg/dL or less, increase high-density lipoprotein-C (“good” cholesterol) to an average of approximately 50mg/dL, and reduce plaque in the arteries of the heart.

AstraZeneca released top-line disappointing results from the SAURN trial a couple of months ago (The Pharma Letter September 5). Crestor is already a blockbuster for AstraZeneca, generating turnover of $5.7 billion last year and $1.7 billion in the second quarter of this year (+15% year-on-year), but the drugmaker decided to go ahead with a head-to-head trial against Lipitor hoping to show it was better at preventing plaque build-up in heart arteries than the Pfizer drug, which generated sales of $11 billion last year. The statin market overall is expected to be hit by generic atorvastatin becoming available, as happened to Lipitor – once selling $16 billion a year - when simvastatin came off patent.