Issue 7May

2007

CRESTOR – Behind the Numbers is the CRESTOR Global Team newsletter • CONFIDENTIAL • for internal AstraZeneca use only CRESTOR is a trade mark of the AstraZeneca group of companies

CRESTOR – Behind the NumbersCRESTOR – Behind the Numbers

Brazil Wins the Second Annual ACCREDO PR Award Competition!

Welcome!

Welcome to the seventh issue of the CRESTOR

‘Behind The Numbers’newsletter.

In this issue you will find important reports from:

ACCREDO PR award

CRESTOR 10,000,000

Russia roundtable

Japan SUMMIT

New publications

People on the move

Please remember that this newsletter is for the

benefit of all of us. What happens in other parts of

the world could be of great benefit in solving

your own marketing problems.

Send us your stories and we will give you a

platform to impress your colleagues!

Virginie Bousquet, Editor,

Global PR Manager –CRESTOR

The 2006 ACCREDO PR winners were:

1st place: Chinawith ‘Pay It Forward’

2nd place:Latin America with

‘See & Treat.’

cholesterol level. The contender who gets the closest, or actually reaches their targets will be the winner.

Gustavo comments: “Reaching the goals is not an easy job. For this, the competitors will have to follow a complete healthcare strategy and lifestyle change programme, which includes a nutritional programme, a workout plan, stress management (yoga, meditation, etc) and clinical support. And, sure, many patients will have to be very dedicated in maintaining their treatment with CRESTOR as part of this change in order to actually achieve their goals. We wanted to switch on the light inside peoples’ heads with simple behaviour alerts,” explained Gustavo.

“The ‘Heart Olympics’ programme applies an unusual approach to reaching and involving people, teasing potential patients to take part in a competition. Ordinary people, people like you and I, are going to be the stars of the ‘Heart Olympics’”.

The funding received from winning the competition will focus on the operational work: finding partners, designing the agenda, looking for medical and patient associations and arranging the complete structure and logistics for a great result. The additional funding will also allow the Brazil Marketing Company to invest in direct to consumer marketing, something which is crucial to the execution of this idea.

The Judges were equally impressed with the entry, with Judge Elaine Campbell, Vice-President Primary Care, commenting, “The team clearly understood that taking a ‘whole patient’ approach with lifestyle change, education, and a fun challenge is critical to both improving overall health outcomes and getting the most value out of a treatment regimen which can include CRESTOR”.

Returning for a second year, the successful 2007 ACCREDO PR Award competition kicked off in February, offering all CRESTOR marketing companies a chance to contend for $60,000 of programme funding by submitting their most creative and original PR ideas, whilst aligning with the new brand creative theme, ‘The Person Behind the Numbers’.

The competition proved popular amongst our colleagues with various innovative ideas submitted from across the globe!

Judging the entries was tough as inspired efforts from the marketing companies led to the development of supremely creative and innovative programmes.

The Judging Panel:Elaine Campbell VP, Primary CareSimon Barter VP, Strategy & InnovationMargaret Morgan Director of Global Product PRAnnette Veltmar European Business Director ISMO

The judges extensively reviewed all the entries and came to a unanimous conclusion…

The winner of the 2007 ACCREDO PR Award is the BRAZIL MARKETING COMPANY…for its programme: ‘Heart Olympics’!

Gustavo Schor, Communications Manager, and his team set out to create a PR plan “aimed at increasing Brazilians’ awareness about heart disease and high cholesterol, after the ‘From the Heart’ survey showed that 78% of Brazilian patients were unaware of the effects of high cholesterol levels on overall health” said Gustavo.

‘Heart Olympics,’ is a health competition with the objective of addressing the unmet need of helping people achieve cholesterol level goals and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, while also building relationships and garnering media coverage. The competition is focused on patients making lifestyle changes and maintaining their treatment. Each competitor will undergo clinical evaluation and set target goals such as weight loss, quitting smoking, or reaching a target HDL

Continues on Page 2, column 1

Page 2Page 2CRESTOR – Behind the NumbersCRESTOR – Behind the Numbers

CRESTOR®milestones at a

glance

worldwide sales

patients treated

prescriptions written

countries have approved CRESTOR

markets have launched CRESTOR

CRESTOR® passes a new milestone –10 million patients worldwide

CRESTOR has achieved another major milestone – with the number of patients treated worldwide passing the 10 million mark.

Last year’s $2 billion plus sales achievement had already marked a major milestone for the brand –making it the fastest product in the CV portfolio to reach $2 billion sales since launch in 2003.

Dena Lipman, CRESTOR VP, said: “Reaching ten million patients is an important milestone, it confirms the ongoing success of CRESTOR which is becoming recognised as the best in class statin with the potential to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease worldwide.”

CRESTOR is now approved in 91 countries across the world and is launched in 74. More than 86 millions prescriptions have been written to over 10 million patients to reduce their LDL-cholesterol (known as ‘bad’ cholesterol). People with raised levels of LDL-C are predisposed to cardiovascular disease, which kills over 17 million people each year, the most frequent cause of death worldwide.

CRESTOR is the most effective statin at reducing LDL-C, with additional benefits of raising HDL-C and lowering triglycerides, across the dose range. CRESTOR has also demonstrated a significant impact on atherosclerosis across the spectrum of the disease; with METEOR in subjects with early disease and low coronary heart disease risk, and ASTEROID in patients with established disease and a high risk of CHD events.

Continued from Page 1, column 2

Gustavo and his team believe that the $60,000 ACCREDO PR prize is “very important for the Brazilian market,” as currently, most of their budget supports day-to-day activities versus broader disease improvement projects. “The team also hopes that the ‘Heart Olympics’ will show Brazilian people that lifestyle changes combined with medical treatment may enable people to live healthier, better lives”. When asked how the ACCREDO PR Award funding will help, he replied “From my perspective, people work better and faster when they have a big challenge. The ACCREDO PR Award had established a very clear target: to be creative and efficient and to help achieve a real change in patient health”.

Gustavo’s advice for other Marketing Companies entering the competition in the future is to “always think about and try to look closer at your local problem. Take time to better understand what your people need, what your market is asking for. Link it with the company's international and national core business and voilà”!

Virginie Bousquet, Global PR Manager for CRESTOR commented on the entry, “we look for entries that address the core strengths and strategy behind CRESTOR, but that's not enough to win, there also needs to be a good idea behind the entry. Linking the Olympic theme to disease awareness and then building a platform for new relationships with stakeholders through the competition is a great way to combine many elements into a theme with a strong identity. Not only that, but it's about real people, a bit of a challenge, and ultimately one happy winner who will have learnt a great deal about their heart health".

Please look out next year for details on entering the 2008 ACCREDO PR Award Competition!

‘Which statinto choose? Pharmacoeconomicconsiderations’.

Russian round table reportVera Komarova, MD, PhD, Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research Manager - AstraZeneca Russia, reports on the Round Table on April 19 in Moscow. This event brought together more than 30 specialists from various regions of the Russian Federation who make decisions on the choice of pharmaceuticals to be included in the Lists of the Russian reimbursement system and on the development of standard treatment guidelines for socially important diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases presents one of the most pressing challenges worldwide and the current mortality rates in Russia are significantly higher than those in many countries of Europe and America, reaching more than 1.25 million cases annually. According to an outstanding academic and cardiac surgeon, Leo Bokeria, by 2015 losses to the Russian economy related to cardiovascular diseases may amount to $300 billion.

The role of statins in the prevention of CV disease and inContinues on Page 3, column 1

CRESTOR – Behind the NumbersCRESTOR – Behind the Numbers Page 3Page 3

Publishedthis month ANDROMEDA:Effects of rosuvastatin on lipids, lipoproteins andapolipoproteins in the dyslipidaemia of diabetesD. J. Betteridge and J. M. Gibson*, on behalf of the ANDROMEDA Study Investigators Diabetic Medicine 2007; 24, 541-549.

SOLAR, US managed care: Achieving Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Goals in High-Risk Patients in Managed Care: Comparison of Rosuvastatin, Atorvastatin, andSimvastatin in the SOLAR TrialW Insull; J K. Ghali; D R Hassman; J W Ycas; S K Gandhi; E Miller, for the SOLAR Study GroupMayo Clinic Proceedings. 2007;82(5):543-550.

Publications Guide to ATP proceduresAll AstraZeneca publications require approval to be published through the Authorisation To Publish (ATP) procedure. With the increased production of local marketing company publication projects, we have produced a document to ensure you are fully aware of the procedures and that all your local publications obtain ATP approval and the appropriate people are aware of the planned publication. Please find below a PKT link to the CRESTOR MC Publication Guide document .This also provides useful links to the AZ publication policies. If you have any further queries please contact one of the CRESTOR publication managers Kay Koyander or Beverley Greenway.

LINK TO DOCUMENT(in original application)

LINK TO PKT

Continued from Page 2 column 2

achieving fewer fatal complications is obvious, and it has been proven in many multi-center clinical and real

world studies. And this is confirmed by the fact that statins are among the most frequently prescribed pharmaceuticals in the world.

So far, however, the Russian health care system has not been able to afford the mandatory use of statins even in high-risk patients. The problem of under-funding is especially acute for our country. Unfortunately, the adequate treatment of acute life-threatening conditions is not always possible. Thus the issue of mandatory prescribing of certain medicines for preventive purposes still remains unresolved.

Russian specialists are very well aware of the importance of early statin treatment but, until recently they have not had any valid arguments to substantiate the need for using statins together with first line drugs for treating cardiovascular diseases.

On the other hand, when doctors start prescribing statins, their choice should be the one with the least impact on the budget. And what is one of the basic ways to reduce the cost of treatment? Obviously, this will be generic substitution.

“How adequate is this point of view?”

We invited our colleague, Paul Miller, Senior Health Economist AZ Global to participate in the event.

Paul demonstrated the results of the Russian cost-effectiveness model analysing rosuvastatin vs. atorvastatin and simvastatin, the most frequently prescribed generics in Russia.

The results opened the eyes for many in the audience, who had previously based their economic arguments on simple price comparisons. Paul demonstrated the costs to treat to target by CRESTOR, are 27% lower than Atoris (generic аtorvastatin, KRKA) and 35% lower than Vasilip (generic simvastatin, KRKA).

This means that CRESTOR could help to save more patients for the same budget. Until now, the economic advantages of generics have been thought indisputable.

A Russian expert in pharmacoeconomics, AllaRudakova, supported our evidence. She presented results of an independent cost-effectiveness analysis that took into account many aspects of the Russian health care not known to Paul. We believe that the statement made by Prof. Leonid Lazebnik, the Chief Internist of Moscow health care department, has become an important result of the meeting.

Prof. Leonid Lazebnik, the Chief Internist of Moscow health care department said: "I've always known

that CRESTOR is a remarkable drug. But I needed arguments supporting the pharmaco-economic expediency of its use. Thanks to AstraZeneca, we have gained a clear understanding of the fact that, first, statins are truly vital drugs, and, second, that the choice of rosuvastatin is a rational investment of resources used for treating patients".

Paul Miller

Prof. Leonid Lazebnik

The costs to treat to target by CRESTOR

are 27% under Atoris and 35% under Vasilip

Atoris20+10 mg/day

Vasilip40+40 mg/day

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000RUR/ year

Equi-effective Statin Doses based on the data of Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. July 2006Positive recommendations. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2006www.npsradar.org.auSource of prices: Price List of the Roszdravnadzor, approved 02.10.2006. Decree №2240-Пр/06

CRESTOR10 mg/day

Page 4Page 4CRESTOR – Behind the NumbersCRESTOR – Behind the Numbers

Jonathan Marshall

People on the moveDena Lipman, VP CRESTOR, made the following personnel announcements:

Welcome to Darrell JanesI am pleased to announce that Darrell Janes has joined the CRESTOR Commercial Team as GBM. Darrell has completed a 2-year China secondment where he worked as the Marketing Director for Specialty Care.During this time he was responsible for building a new marketing team, as well as leading innovations programmes such as the IRESSA donation programme and pipeline acceleration strategy which resulted in China specific development for for both Zactima and Recentin.

Darrell joined the Company in 1987 as a bio scientist in oncology drug-discovery and has previously held roles within the UK sales force, product management, market and business analysis and territory management. Before leaving for China Darrell worked as IRESSA GBM with responsibility for MC preparation for launch and external communications.

Darrell is married to Rachel and has a 6-year old daughter called Erin. We welcome him warmly to the CRESTOR Team.

Farewell to Antoine LacombeI am sorry to announce that Antoine has decided to leave AstraZeneca to take up a position with another Company. Antoine has made a huge contribution to The CRESTOR Team chairing the CCT and managing the budget, BOP plans and BSP, organising the successful CREST Champions meetings and being a point of contact with key markets including Japan, Asia Pacific & France and supporting LCM development. We will miss him and wish him much future success.

The CRESTOR SUMMIT was held on 12th May in Tokyo, Japan.

Katsuyoshi Kii, Brand Manager and Noriko Oshima, Brand Associate - AstraZeneca KK explained that the theme of this event was:

"What is the optimum level of LDL-C for prevention of Coronary Heart Disease?"

Six Key Opinion Leaders were involved in this large and important meeting and discussed ‘the lower the better’ concept for the treatment of LDL-C to prevent Coronary Heart Disease.

Dr.Hiro, one of the investigators of COSMOS trial, presented results for both ASTEROID and METEOR studies followed by each KOL speaker who explained their clinical experience with CRESTOR.

The meeting was well attended, with 420 doctors present. By the end of the meeting the delegates fully appreciated the efficacy and safety benefits of CRESTOR in Japanese patients.

CRESTOR SUMMIT Meeting in Japan

People on the move

Jonathan Marshall moves to new role - Global Brand Manager, Dapagliflozin

Jonathan Marshall, previously Global Professional Relations Manager (GPRM) for CRESTOR, has moved on to a new role. He is now a Global Brand Manager on Dapagliflozin, one of the BMS-AZ Diabetes alliance compounds.

Jonathan has been the GPRM for CRESTOR for the last one and half years and has ensured excellent working relations with our external key opinion leaders as well as contributing to the success of CRESTOR during this time.

Jonathan has been a great team player and will be missed by all. However, the new role is a great opportunity for him and we wish him every success in this new and challenging position.

STOP PRESS

A new GPRM has now been appointed – more details to follow soon