Recent Study Contradicts FDA on Crestor Risks
Just last March the FDA rebuffed pleas by consumer groups to pull Crestor off the market. However a study published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation indicates a 2 to 8 fold increase in risk of kidney damage and muscle problems over other cholesterol lowering drugs. The safety of Crestor has been closely watched since its approval in 2003. Early indications that the drug posed a risk of rhabdomyolysis similar to that of Baycol fueled arguments that Crestor should not have been approved at all.
Not suprisingly, the FDA's response to the study is mechanical: "We haven't found any convincing evidence that Crestor poses any more of a risk than the other statins."
Considering the scrutiny under which Crestor is monitored, it is inevitable that the drug will be taken off the market. It is just a matter of how long the FDA will wait before doing their job of protecting U.S. citizens.
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