Verispan reports that some 76,000 patients switched their cholesterol therapy—most of them to Crestor—during the week of Oct. 3, 2003 - Brief Article

Drug Cost Management Report, Oct 24, 2003

* Verispan reports that some 76,000 patients switched their cholesterol therapy--most of them to Crestor--during the week of Oct. 3, 2003. The total value of the big switch is estimated at $62 million. Some 13.2% of patients who switched therapy--a net of 5,400 patients--switched to Crestor. However, only 4.3% of patients who initiated cholesterol therapy that week started with a Crestor prescription, according to Verispan's Vector One database.

Verispan says Crestor gained a 0.5% share of projected total retail prescriptions and a 1.7% share of projected new retail prescriptions for that week. Launched Aug. 22, 2003, Crestor now has more than 8,800 prescribers and 27,000 patients, according to Verispan. Contact Verispan's Jody Fisher at (800) 982-5613.