Commenting on the MERCURY I results, principal investigator, Professor Herbert Schuster, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany said: "The outstanding LDL-C lowering produced by CRESTOR means reaching LDL-C goals will become achievable for significantly more people with raised cholesterol. Patients treated with CRESTOR are getting the most effective lipid-lowering therapy to date, thus CRESTOR seems set to dramatically improve the management of patients with, or at risk of, cardiovascular disease. With CRESTOR, we can ensure more patients achieve their LDL-C goal – a critical target, since without successful treatment they remain at increased risk of suffering a serious cardiovascular event."
In MERCURY I, significantly more patients treated with CRESTOR 10mg achieved their European LDL-C goal compared to those receiving atorvastatin 10mg (88% vs. 76%, p<0.001). Similarly, more patients receiving CRESTOR 10mg reached their US NCEP ATP III goal compared to those taking atorvastatin 10mg and 20mg (80% vs. 63% and 74% respectively, p<0.01). As a result, there is a reduced need for titration to higher doses for patients treated with CRESTOR 10mg.
Furthermore, significantly more patients who were switched to CRESTOR 10mg from atorvastatin 10mg or to CRESTOR 20mg from atorvastatin 20mg achieved their US and European LDL-C goals. This means that those patients currently taking a statin and not achieving goal will also benefit from the superior efficacy of CRESTOR and, in the majority of cases, will achieve goal at the start dose (10mg).
The success of CRESTOR in enabling over eight out of 10 patients to achieve their LDL-C goal is due to its outstanding LDL-C lowering efficacy. Results from MERCURY I demonstrate that CRESTOR 10mg reduced LDL-C by 47% - significantly more than both atorvastatin 10mg and 20mg (37% and 44% respectively, p<0.001). In addition, CRESTOR 10mg was significantly more effective than both atorvastatin 10 and 20mg at raising levels of HDL-cholesterol ('good' cholesterol).
In MERCURY I, LDL-C reductions and the proportion of patients reaching LDL-C goal were even more marked when CRESTOR 10mg was compared with higher doses of simvastatin (20mg) or pravastatin (40mg).
"We have seen time and again in outcomes studies that a reduction in LDL-C will reduce the number of cardiovascular events and improve patient survival. Therefore it is important for clinicians to treat patients with the medication that lowers LDL-C most effectively to get patients to their LDL-C goals" commented Professor Herbert Schuster. "For physicians, CRESTOR, in addition to being well tolerated, offers a treatment option that, at 10mg, performs significantly better than 10 or 20mg of atorvastatin, potentially avoiding the time and cost associated with titrating patients from a starting dose to a higher dose."
The benefits of CRESTOR for patients and clinicians, as demonstrated in MERCURY I, are confirmed by the results of STELLAR, another study in the GALAXY Programme, which will also be presented at the ACC.
CRESTOR was first approved in the Netherlands in 2002 and has now successfully completed the Mutual Recognition Procedure in 13 other European countries - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden and United Kingdom. CRESTOR is also approved in Canada and Singapore, and is awaiting approval in the USA, Japan and in other markets.
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare sales of over $17.8 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, anaesthesia (including pain management), cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. AstraZeneca has more than 40 years experience in cardiovascular medicine and aims to increase lifespan and improve quality of life by reducing the risk, prevalence and impact of cardiovascular disease. AstraZeneca has a comprehensive cardiovascular portfolio including CRESTOR, ATACAND, ZESTRIL, TENORMIN, SELOKEN ZOK /TOPROL XL and PLENDIL. This heritage is complemented by an innovative pipeline including the first oral direct thrombin inhibitor, EXANTA, and a novel treatment for type 2 diabetes / metabolic syndrome, GALIDA.
References
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3. Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults. Executive Summary of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). JAMA 2001; 285(19): 2486-2497.
4. Foder JG, Frohlich JJ, Genest JJG et al. Recommendations for the management and treatment of dyslipidaemia. Canadian Med Assoc J 2000; 162(10): 1441-1447.
5. Kotseva, K, Wood D, de Backer, G et al. Clinical reality of coronary prevention guidelines: a comparison of EUROSPIRE I and II in nine countries. Lancet: 2001; 357:995-1001.
6. Pearson T et al. The Lipid Treatment Assessment Project (L-TAP). A multicenter survey to evaluate the percentages of dyslipidaemic patients receiving lipid-lowering therapy and achieving low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goals. Arch Intern Med:2000; 160: 459-467.
7. World Health Report 2001. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int.
8. European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics, 2000 Edition, British Heart Foundation. http://www.bhf.org.uk
Journal
Journal of the American College of Cardiology