A newspaper advertisement for AstraZeneca Plc's cholesterol drug Crestor that touts patient safety is misleading and should no longer be published, regulators warned in a letter released on Wednesday. In the letter dated Dec. 21, the Food and Drug Administration said it was particularly concerned the advertisement downplayed risks associated with Crestor and wrongly suggested the agency has "confidence" in the drug. The advertisement reads: "The FDA has confidence in the safety and efficacy of Crestor," but that "misleadingly suggests that the agency does not believe that Crestor poses safety risks," the FDA wrote. "In fact, recent public statements made by the agency contradict that conclusion," the FDA letter said. AstraZeneca spokesman Steven Lampert said the company maintained that the advertisement was not misleading, adding it was a "one time thing" that was no longer being published. The company has insisted Crestor, known generically as rosuvastatin, is as safe as other drugs in the family known as statins. --MORE 2324 Local Time 2024 GMT
