What is Crestor?

Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) is a statin drug, a medicine that lowers "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides, and raises "good" cholesterol in the blood. Crestor is made by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2003.

Crestor can be taken as a single dose at any time of day, with or without food. The dose range is 5 to 40 mg once daily. You should start on the lowest possible dose and never at 40 mg. After starting or changing your dose of Crestor, your lipid levels should be checked within 2 to 4 weeks and your dose adjusted as necessary.

Additionally, the alert reported a study revealing that the amount of the drug in the blood of a diverse group of Asian patients taking Crestor was two times higher than for Caucasian patients in the study. The labeling for Crestor will now recommend a lower starting dose of 5 mg for Asian patients.

Kidney failure of various types has also been reported in patients treated with Crestor and other statin drugs. However, the FDA does not have enough evidence to conclude that kidney damage is a direct result of Crestor therapy.