Astra gets US go-ahead for Crestor

DRUGS group AstraZeneca last night got the green light to launch its new cholesterol lowering drug Crestor in the US, which should push the shares sharply higher.

The global market for cholesterol drugs is huge. Analysts believe US sales of Crestor could top £2.2bn by 2008.

The decision to allow the drug to be sold in the US came after a long investigation by safety watchdogs. It has already been approved in 23 countries including Britain and Canada.

The watchdogs were concerned about the possibility of harmful side effects although Astra has always argued the drug is safe. But German rival Bayer was forced to withdraw its cholesterol treatment Baycol last year after it was linked with a number of deaths.

Astra plans a massive marketing operation to launch Crestor, which will go head-to-head with rival Pfizer's drug Lipitor. Crestor is one of a handful of potential blockbusters Astra is relying on to take up the slack since generic competition hit sales of its top-selling ulcer drug Losec.

The US had been expected to approve Crestor a year ago but asked for further tests. It has cleared the drug to be sold at doses between five and 40 milligrams. Lipitor can be sold in much higher doses but Astra declined to follow for fear of possible side effects. It will now begin talks over the precise labelling of the drug.