AstraZeneca Cautions Doctors On High Dose Crestor

AstraZeneca Plc has warned British doctors to stick to the label and not start patients on high doses of new cholesterol drug Crestor following four cases of a condition that can lead to kidney damage. The company said on Monday it had told health-care professionals in a letter that patients should not be started directly on the higher 40 mg dose but should be given 10 mg initially, with doses increasing to 20-40 mg as required. The move follows four incidents of rhabdomyolysis -- muscle toxicity that can lead to kidney damage -- in 110,000 Britons given the medicine, said company spokeswoman Kirsty Walker.