Astra-Zeneca PLC, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the cholesterol-lowering medication Crestor , this week released new analysis of the data from a major clinical trial into the drug that showed it reduced the risk of stroke and heart attack in elderly patients.
Data from the Jupiter study was first announced in November, when Astra-Zeneca showed that the drug had a significant impact on lowering the rates of mortality and morbidity from heart attacks and strokes in users of all ages, regardless of whether they had any pre-existing health conditions.
The new analysis was unveiled at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona and demonstrated that the 5,695 patients over 70 taking Crestor during the study had a 39% reduced risk of experiencing a major cardiovascular event such as myocardial infarcation, stroke, or death from cardiovascular problems.
More specifically, the data showed that there was a 45% decrease in the chances of a patient having a heart attack or stroke, and there was a 49% reduction in the need for hospitalisation for arterial revascularisation or unstable angina.
Crestor has already received approval from the FDA and the European Medicines Agency and is now sold in over 95 countries; Astra-Zeneca said that nearly 17 million patients worldwide have been prescribed the drug.