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.
