First Head To Head Study Comparing Crestor And Lipitor(R) Effects On The Treatment Of Atherosclerosis

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 16 Jan 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Astrazeneca announced the launch of a new clinical trial, SATURN, designed to measure the impact of CRESTOR™ (rosuvastatin) 40 mg and Lipitor® (atorvastatin) 80 mg on the progression of atherosclerosis in high risk patients. SATURN will compare the effects of these two statins on the ability to decrease progression or induce regression of atherosclerosis, the main cause of cardiovascular disease, following two years of treatment in patients with coronary artery disease.

Dr George Kassianos, GP, Bracknell and Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology commented: "The announcement of this head to head study between rosuvastatin and atorvastatin is exciting news for physicians as it will for the first time address important clinical and scientific questions by direct comparison. The SATURN study will provide physicians with a better understanding of the effects of these two well established statin treatments in patients with advanced atherosclerosis and how to treat them appropriately."

SATURN, (Study of Coronary Atheroma by InTravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin Versus AtorvastatiN), is a 104-week, parallel-group, multicentre, double-blind, Phase IIIb intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging study of approximately 1,300 patients at 170 centres worldwide. The first patient will be enrolled later this month and the study is expected to complete in 2011. SATURN is part of AstraZeneca's extensive GALAXY clinical trials programme, designed to address important unanswered questions in statin research and to investigate the impact of rosuvastatin on control of lipids, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Currently, more than 63,000 patients have been recruited from 55 countries worldwide to participate in the GALAXY Programme.

Elisabeth Bjork, Global Medical Science Director for CRESTOR commented: "Two major studies in the GALAXY programme have already demonstrated the significant impact of CRESTOR 40mg on atherosclerosis across the disease spectrum. The ASTEROID study was the first to show regression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with established disease, and the METEOR study showed that CRESTOR can also slow or delay the progression of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with early signs of the disease. The results of the SATURN study will provide additional information on how best to treat patients with advanced atherosclerosis,"

CRESTOR has now received regulatory approvals in over 90 countries. Over 11 million patients have been prescribed CRESTOR worldwide.

About AstraZeneca

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 world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $26.47 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4 Good Index.

http://www.astrazeneca.com