Astra Zeneca seeks $5bn pick me up

Last week’s approval of the cholesterol-lowering drug by the US Food and Drug Administration started an enormous effort by the group’s 6,500 American salesmen to turn Crestor into a blockbuster.

Astra Zeneca needs a new big-selling drug to return to growth after losing sales on Prilosec, the ulcer and heartburn treatment that came under attack from much cheaper generic competition.

Sir Tom McKillop, chief executive, believes that Crestor can take 30% of new prescriptions for statins, the class of drugs to which it belongs.

The market for statins is already worth $20 billion and expected to grow to $25 billion by 2007. “I have consistently said that if we could demonstrate that Crestor is superior (to its rivals), 20% of the market is a very

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