Crestor in Europe

AstraZeneca PLC
03 March 2003



            FIRST EUROPEAN LAUNCH FOR CRESTOR(R) IN THE NETHERLANDS



AstraZeneca announced today it has launched CRESTOR(R) (rosuvastatin) 10-40 mg
for the management of primary hypercholesterolaemia and mixed dyslipidaemia in
the Netherlands, the first European market to launch CRESTOR.



Dr Gunnar Olsson, Head of the Cardiovascular Therapy Area at AstraZeneca, said:
'An estimated 1.6 million people in the Netherlands have elevated cholesterol
levels, putting them at risk of cardiovascular disease.  With the efficacy we've
seen in clinical studies, CRESTOR has the potential to make a real difference to
these patients' lives.'



The company plans to launch in the remaining EU markets over the coming months,
following the conclusion of the Mutual Recognition Procedure (MRP) and the local
Marketing Authorisations and subsequent pricing and reimbursement discussions.
The Netherlands acted as the reference member state for the MRP.



The Dutch statin market is valued at 240 million Euros ($220 million), and is
growing at 15 per cent a year.  The global statin market is currently worth
approximately US $19 billion annually and is also growing at about 15 per cent a
year.



The clinical development programme for CRESTOR now involves over 16,000 patients
and includes a number of head-to-head comparative studies. In multiple clinical
studies, CRESTOR has been shown to be more effective in lowering LDL-cholesterol
(LDL-C or 'bad cholesterol') than currently prescribed statins.  CRESTOR 10mg
gets significantly more patients to their European LDL-C goal than atorvastatin
10mg (82% v 51% respectively), simvastatin 20mg (80% v 48%) and pravastatin 20mg
(80% v 16%). In addition to the dramatic reductions seen in LDL-C, CRESTOR
produces a significant increase in HDL-C ('good cholesterol'), as well as
reducing total cholesterol and triglycerides.



CRESTOR is a trade mark of the AstraZeneca group of companies.







Media Enquiries:

Emily Denney, Tel: [phone]

Steve Brown, Tel: [phone]



Investor Relations:

Mina Blair Robinson, Tel: [phone]

Jonathan Hunt, Tel:  [phone]



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