Astra forecasts renewed Crestor growth

By Ben Hirschler

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) expects its anti-cholesterol drug Crestor to pick up business again in the United States, on the back of an improved label, after flat-lining at around 8.5 percent market share in recent months.

U.S. regulators last week endorsed Crestor as the first of the widely used statin family of cholesterol drugs -- the world's top-selling medicines -- to treat atherosclerosis, or clogging of the arteries.

"I believe that this will have a positive impact on Crestor and get us back on a growth trajectory," AstraZeneca Chief Executive David Brennan said in a phone interview at the Reuters Health Summit in New York on Monday.

Crestor is a key product for Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca, which faces competition from cheap generics, slowing sales of top-selling stomach acid treatment Nexium and a relatively weak pipeline of new drugs.

Some industry analysts have questioned the importance of the new label -- highlighting the power of Crestor to slow the progression of atherosclerosis -- since many doctors prescribe statins because they think they can do this already.

But Brennan argued that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's backing for the new claim would help drive use of its medicine, particularly in difficult-to-treat patients.

"Crestor should be positioned for patients who have more than one risk factor or who have significantly elevated levels of cholesterol. This particular change in the label plays well to reinforcing that position," he said.

AstraZeneca has no immediate plans for a direct-to-consumer advertising blitz on the back of the new label but will continue to run intermittent campaigns, he added.  Continued...