AstraZeneca in big ads drive

DRUGS giant AstraZeneca has launched a massive marketing offensive in the US to convince consumers its cholesterol-lowering drug, Crestor, is safe, as the pharmaceuticals industry finds itself in the firing line after the withdrawal of Merck's Vioxx painkiller.

The company, headed by Sir Tom McKillop, is rolling out advertisements in newspapers across the nation with the headline: 'You can be assured that at AstraZeneca patient safety is our number one priority.'

The ads direct customers to a website where the company has compiled a comprehensive defence of the drug.

However, the campaign is already under fire, with a consumer group attacking the ads for what it claims is 'misleading statements about the drug'.

Sidney Wolfe, director of the Washington-based Public Citizen's Health Research Group, wrote to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acting commissioner Lester Crawford complaining about the campaign.

The agency will review Public Citizen's request carefully and take action if it's warranted, FDA spokesman Lawrence Bachorik said.

Crestor was under suspicion even before Merck's arthritis drug Vioxx was withdrawn from the US market, but that case has dragged it back into unwelcome limelight.

The case has created alarm across the US about the efficiency of the FDA, which has approved Vioxx.

Crestor, which is expected to generate sales of $950 million (£516.2m) this year, was launched last year.

An estimated $750m has already been spent on promoting it, and that is likely to rise by another $200m.

In testimony last week before members of Congress an FDA official, Dr David Graham, claimed Crestor and four other drugs previously approved by the agency needed more scrutiny.

His comments increased patient worries, leading an AstraZeneca spokesperson to complain that there was a 'great deal of misinformationî.

Crestor has been linked to rhabdomyolosis, a sometimes fatal condition that causes severe muscle weakness.

Other approvals criticised by the FDA's Graham were of Glaxo-SmithKline ' s asthma drug Serevent, Pfizer's arthritis treatment Bextra, Roche's acne treatment Accutane and Abbott Laboratories weight-loss drug Meridia.

AstraZeneca said that third-quarter Crestor sales were $260m, including $162m in the US.

Corresponding second-quarter figures were $207m and $113m respectively.