Pharmaceutical Litigation Alert

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What you should know about Crestor

Crestor is a new prescription medicine for patients with high cholesterol. Billed as a “super statin,” Crestor medication was approved by the Federal Drug Administration in August 2003. AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company who developed the Crestor medication, has aggressively marketed this Crestor medication, and sold $1 billion in sales in the first year.

Crestor has also been associated with rhabdomyolysis - a condition that results in muscle breakdown and the release of muscle cell contents into the bloodstream. Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain, weakness, tenderness, fever, dark urine, nausea, and vomiting. In severe cases, rhabdomyolysis can result in kidney failure and can be life-threatening.

Hints that taking Crestor medication might cause harmful side effects were present before this drug gained approval by the US government. A drug similar to the Crestor medication in form and function was recalled in August of 2001 because the serious health risks associated with taking this drug outweighed its intended benefits. Baycol was taken off the drug market when it was shown to cause a serious degenerative muscle disease in its patients.

In March 2004, the Public Citizen consumer group called for the immediate ban of Crestor in the U.S., and renewed the call in late October after finding the rate of reports to the FDA of acute renal failure or renal insufficiency to be 75 times higher for Crestor users than the rate of all other statin drugs combined.

If you are taking Crestor, consult with your physician for advice on the wisdom of continued use.

If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic medical event while taking Crestor, please call our law firm at 305-373-0708 and let us investigate your case. There is no charge, and no obligation. If we take your case, there is no fee for our services unless we win your case, or settle it in your favor.