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AstraZeneca confirmed the death of a third patient linked to Crestor yesterday, due to complications with rhabdomyolysis, a muscle-wasting disease, late last year. These were the very same concerns expressed by my hero, Dr. David Graham, in his testimony in front of Congress late last year.
Then, after the FDA did their best to distance themselves from Graham's comments, the feds issued a letter to AstraZeneca about ads making false claims about the safety of Crestor.
The pharmaceutical giant termed the details surrounding the death "complex," adding the patient was taking other medications that might have caused a condition known as neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Nevertheless, an AstraZeneca spokesperson said the company was happy with the safety profile of the drug.
The link between rhabdomyolysis and statins, like Crestor, is well documented. More than three years ago, Bayer was forced to withdraw Baycol from the market after clinical tests linked it to 31 deaths attributed to the same muscle-wasting disease.
Because statins are such a huge money-maker -- try $15 BILLION -- Big Pharma will move mountains to keep them on the market, although virtually no one needs to take them. Optimizing your diet based on your unique nutritional type and reducing or eliminating grains and sugars can normalize your cholesterol about 98 percent of the time.
TimesOnline.co.uk January 11, 2005