AstraZeneca and Abbott Expand Relationship to Include Co-Promotion of CRESTOR®

Under the terms of the agreement, Abbott will obtain the non-exclusive right to promote CRESTOR alongside AstraZeneca in the United States, excluding Puerto Rico. Specific financial terms were not disclosed.

CRESTOR is a once-daily prescription statin medication indicated for use as an adjunct to diet in the treatment of various lipid disorders including primary hyperlipidaemia, mixed dyslipidaemia and isolated hypertriglyceridaemia, and to slow the progression of atherosclerosis in adult patients as part of a treatment strategy to lower Total-C and LDL-C to target levels. CRESTOR is available in a 5-, 10-, 20-, and 40-mg dose.

"Abbott's dyslipidaemia portfolio includes a number of therapies to help physicians manage a patient's total lipid profile," said Nicole Mowad-Nassar, divisional vice president, Primary Care, Abbott. "With robust clinical data to support its use in managing cholesterol, CRESTOR is another important therapeutic option we can now offer physicians."

This agreement is the second collaboration between AstraZeneca and Abbott. In 2006, the companies announced an agreement to develop a fixed-dose combination of the active ingredients in Abbott’s investigational TriLipix™ (fenofibric acid) and AstraZeneca’s CRESTOR, with plans to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2009. An NDA for TriLipix for use as monotherapy and in combination with statins has been submitted to the FDA and is currently under review.

"This agreement will allow AstraZeneca to increase share of voice for CRESTOR among physicians whose patients may benefit from this therapy. We see this as a good fit for both companies as this agreement allows us to leverage Abbott's established presence in the dyslipidaemia space," said Mike Tilton, vice president of Primary Care, AstraZeneca.

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14 August 2008