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Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Mechanism of action: Rosuvastatin is a selective, potent and competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, the rate-limiting enzyme that converts 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A to mevalonate, a precursor of cholesterol. Triglycerides (TG) and cholesterol in the liver are incorporated, with apolipoprotein B (ApoB), into very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and released into the plasma for delivery to peripheral tissues. VLDL particles are TG-rich. Cholesterol-rich low density lipoprotein (LDL) is formed from VLDL and is cleared primarily through the high affinity LDL receptor in the liver.
Rosuvastatin produces its lipid-modifying effects in two ways; it increases the number of hepatic LDL receptors on the cell-surface, enhancing uptake and catabolism of LDL and it inhibits the hepatic synthesis of VLDL, thereby reducing the total number of VLDL and LDL particles.
High density lipoprotein (HDL), which contains ApoA-I is involved, amongst other things, in transport of cholesterol from tissues back to the liver (reverse cholesterol transport).
The involvement of LDL-C in atherogenesis has been well documented. Epidemiological studies have established that high LDL-C, TG, low HDL-C and ApoA-I have been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Intervention studies have shown the benefits on mortality and CV event rates of lowering LDL-C and TG or raising HDL-C. More recent data has linked the beneficial effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors to lowering of non-HDL (i.e. all circulating cholesterol not in HDL) and ApoB or reducing the ApoB/ApoA-I ratio.
Clinical efficacy: Crestor reduces elevated LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides and increases HDL-cholesterol. It also lowers ApoB, nonHDL-C, VLDL-C, VLDL-TG and increases ApoA-I (see Tables 1 and 2).
Crestor also lowers the LDL-C/HDL-C, total C/HDL-C, nonHDL-C/HDL-C and ApoB/ApoA-I ratio's.
A therapeutic response to Crestor is evident within 1 week of commencing therapy and 90% of maximum response is usually achieved in 2 weeks. The maximum response is usually achieved by 4 weeks and is maintained after that. (See Tables 1 and 2.)
Click on icon to see table/diagram/image
Click on icon to see table/diagram/imageThe data in Tables 1 and 2 are confirmed by the broader clinical programme of over 5,300 patients given Crestor.
In a study of patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia, 435 subjects were given Crestor from 20 mg to 80 mg in a force-titration design. All doses of Crestor showed a beneficial effect on lipid parameters and treatment to target goals. Following titration to 40 mg (12 weeks of treatment) LDL-C was reduced by 53%.
In a force-titration open label study, 42 patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia were evaluated for their response to Crestor 20 - 40 mg titrated at a 6 week interval. In the overall population, the mean LDL-C reduction was 22%. In the 27 patients with at least a 15% reduction by week 12 (considered to be the responder population), the mean LDL-C reduction was 26% at the 20 mg dose and 30% at the 40 mg dose. Of the 13 patients with an LDL-C of less than 15%, 3 had no response or an increase in LDL-C.
In a randomized, multi-center, double-blind crossover study, 32 patients (27 with ε2/ε2 and 4 with apo E mutation [Arg145Cys] with primary dysbetalipoproteinemia (Type III Hyperlipoproteinemia) entered a 6-week dietary lead-in period on the NCEP Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) diet. Following dietary lead-in, patients were randomized to a sequence of treatments in conjunction with the TLC diet for 6 weeks each: rosuvastatin 10 mg followed by rosuvastatin 20 mg or rosuvastatin 20 mg followed by rosuvastatin 10 mg. Crestor reduced nonHDL-C (primary endpoint) and circulating remnant lipoprotein levels. Results are shown in the table as follows. (See Table 3.)
Click on icon to see table/diagram/imageIn the Measuring Effects on Intima Media Thickness: an Evaluation Of Rosuvastatin 40 mg (METEOR) study, the effect of therapy with Crestor on carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by B-mode ultrasonography in patients with elevated LDL-C, at low risk (Framingham risk <10% over ten years) for symptomatic coronary artery disease and with subclinical atherosclerosis as evidenced by carotid intimal-medial thickness (cIMT). In this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study 984 patients were randomized (of whom 876 were analyzed) in a 5:2 ratio to Crestor 40 mg or placebo once daily. Ultrasonograms of the carotid walls were used to determine the annualized rate of change per patient from baseline to two years in mean maximum cIMT of 12 measured segments. The estimated difference in the rate of change in the maximum cIMT analyzed over all 12 carotid artery sites between Crestor-treated patients and placebo-treated patients was -0.0145 mm/year (95% Confidence Interval CI -0.0196, -0.0093; p<0.0001).
The annualized rate of change from baseline for the placebo group was +0.0131 mm/year (p<0.0001). The annualized rate of change from baseline for the Crestor group was -0.0014 mm/year (p=0.32).
At an individual patient level in the Crestor group, 52.1% of patients demonstrated an absence of disease progression (defined as a negative annualized rate of change), compared to 37.7% of patients in the placebo group.
Crestor is effective in a wide variety of patient populations with hypercholesterolaemia, with and without hypertriglyceridaemia, regardless of race, sex or age and in special populations such as diabetics or patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia.
In the Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER) study, the effect of Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) on the occurrence of major atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease events was assessed in 17,802 men (≥50 years) and women (≥60 years) who had no established cardiovascular disease, LDL-C levels <130 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/l) and hs-CRP levels ≥2 mg/L. The study population had an estimated baseline coronary heart disease risk of 11.3% over 10 years based on the Framingham risk criteria and included a high percentage of patients with additional risk factors such as hypertension (58%), low HDL-C levels (23%), cigarette smoking (16%) or a family history of premature CHD (12%). Study participants were randomly assigned to placebo (n=8901) or rosuvastatin 20 mg once daily (n=8901) and were followed for a mean duration of 2 years.
The primary endpoint was a composite endpoint consisting of the time-to-first occurrence of any of the following CV events: CV death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, unstable angina or an arterial revascularization procedure.
Rosuvastatin significantly reduced the risk of CV events (252 events in the placebo group vs. 142 events in the rosuvastatin group) with a statistically significant (p<0.001) relative risk reduction of 44% (see figure). The benefit was apparent within the first 6 months of treatment. The risk reduction was consistent across multiple predefined population subsets based on assessments of age, sex, race, smoking status, family history of premature CHD, body mass index, LDL-C, HDL-C or hsCRP levels at the time of entry into the study. There was a statistically significant 48% reduction in the combined endpoint of CV death, stroke and myocardial infarction (HR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.40-0.68, p<0.001), a 54% reduction in fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction (HR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.30-0.70) and a 48% reduction in fatal or nonfatal stroke. Total mortality was reduced 20% in the rosuvastatin group (HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.67-0.97, p=0.02). (See figure.)
Click on icon to see table/diagram/imageThe safety profile for subjects taking rosuvastatin 20 mg was generally similar to that of subjects taking placebo. There were 1.6% of rosuvastatin and 1.8% of placebo subjects who withdrew from the trial due to an adverse event, irrespective of treatment causality. The most common adverse reactions that led to treatment discontinuation were: myalgia (0.3% rosuvastatin, 0.2% placebo), abdominal pain (0.03% rosuvastatin, 0.02% placebo) and rash (0.03% rosuvastatin, 0.03% placebo). Adverse reactions reported in ≥2% of patients and at a rate greater than or equal to placebo were myalgia (7.6% rosuvastatin, 6.6% placebo), constipation (3.3% rosuvastatin, 3.0% placebo) and nausea (2.4% rosuvastatin, placebo, 2.3%).
In JUPITER, there was a statistically significant increase in the frequency of diabetes mellitus reported by investigators; 2.8% of patients in the rosuvastatin group and 2.3% of patients in the placebo group (HR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.05-1.53, p=0.015). The difference between treatment groups (rosuvastatin versus placebo) in mean HbA1c change from baseline was approximately 0.1%.
Pediatric Patients with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia: In a double blind, randomized, multi-center, placebo-controlled, 12-week study, 176 (97 male and 79 female) children and adolescents with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia were randomized to rosuvastatin 5, 10 or 20 mg or placebo daily. Patients ranged in age from 10 to 17 years (median age of 14 years) with approximately 30% of the patients 10 to 13 years and approximately 17%, 18%, 40%, and 25% at Tanner stages II, III, IV, and V, respectively. Females were at least 1 year post-menarche. Mean LDL-C at baseline was 233 mg/dL (range of 129 to 399). The 12-week double-blind phase was followed by a 40-week open-label dose-titration phase, where all patients (n=173) received 5 mg, 10 mg or 20 mg rosuvastatin daily.
Rosuvastatin significantly reduced LDL-C (primary end point), total cholesterol and ApoB levels at each dose compared to placebo. Results are shown in Table 4 as follows. (See Table 4.)
Click on icon to see table/diagram/imageAt the end of the 12-week, double-blind treatment period, the percentage of patients achieving the LDL-C goal of less than 110 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) was 0% for placebo, 12% for rosuvastatin 5 mg, 41% for rosuvastatin 10 mg and 41% for rosuvastatin 20 mg. For the 40-week, open-label phase, 71% of the patients were titrated to the maximum dose of 20 mg and 41% of the patients achieved the LDL-C goal of 110 mg/dL.
The long-term efficacy of rosuvastatin therapy initiated in childhood to reduce morbidity and mortality in adulthood has not been established.
Pharmacokinetics: Absorption: In clinical pharmacology studies in man, peak plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin were reached 3 to 5 hours following oral dosing. Both peak concentration (Cmax) and area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) increased in approximate proportion to rosuvastatin dose. The absolute bioavailability of rosuvastatin is approximately 20%.
Administration of rosuvastatin with food decreased the rate of drug absorption by 20% as assessed by Cmax, but there was no effect on the extent of absorption as assessed by AUC.
Plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin do not differ following evening or morning drug administration.
Significant LDL-C reductions are seen when rosuvastatin is given with or without food, and regardless of the time of day of drug administration.
Distribution: Mean volume of distribution at steady-state of rosuvastatin is approximately 134 litres. Rosuvastatin is 88% bound to plasma proteins, mostly albumin. This binding is reversible and independent of plasma concentrations.
Metabolism: Rosuvastatin is not extensively metabolised; approximately 10% of a radio-labelled dose is recovered as metabolite. The major metabolite is N-desmethyl rosuvastatin, which is formed principally by cytochrome P450 2C9, and in vitro studies have demonstrated that N-desmethyl rosuvastatin has approximately one-sixth to one-half the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity of rosuvastatin. Overall, greater than 90% of active plasma HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity is accounted for by rosuvastatin.
Excretion: Following oral administration, rosuvastatin and its metabolite are primarily excreted in the faeces (90%). The elimination half-life (t½) of rosuvastatin is approximately 19 hours.
After an intravenous dose, approximately 28% of total body clearance was via the renal route and 72% by the hepatic route.
Special populations: Age and sex: There was no clinically relevant effect of age or sex on the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin.
Pediatric use: The safety and effectiveness of Crestor in patients 10 to 17 years of age with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia were evaluated in a controlled clinical trial of 12 weeks duration followed by 40 weeks of open-label exposure. Patients treated with 5 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg daily Crestor had an adverse experience profile generally similar to that of patients treated with placebo (see Adverse Reactions). Although not all adverse reactions identified in the adult population have been observed in clinical trials of children and adolescent patients, the same warnings and precautions for adults should be considered for children and adolescents. There was no detectable effect of Crestor on growth, weight, BMI (body mass index), or sexual maturation (see Clinical Efficacy previously mentioned) in pediatric patients (10 to 17 years of age). Adolescent females should be counseled on appropriate contraceptive methods while on Crestor therapy. Crestor has not been studied in controlled clinical trials involving pre-pubertal patients or patients younger than 10 years of age. Doses of Crestor greater than 20 mg have not been studied in the pediatric population.
In children and adolescents with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia experience is limited to eight patients (aged 8 years and above).
In a pharmacokinetic study, 18 patients (9 boys and 9 girls) 10 to 17 years of age with heterozygous FH received single and multiple oral doses of Crestor. Both Cmax and AUC of rosuvastatin were similar to values observed in adult subjects administered the same doses.
Genetic polymorphisms: Disposition of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, including rosuvastatin, involves OATP1B1 and BCRP transporter proteins. In patients with SLCO1B1 (OATP1B1) and/or ABCG2 (BCRP) genetic polymorphisms there is a risk of increased rosuvastatin exposure. Individual polymorphisms of SLCO1B1 c.521CC and ABCG2 c.421AA are associated with an approximate 1.6-fold higher rosuvastatin exposure (AUC) compared to the SLCO1B1 c.521TT or ABCG2 c.421CC genotypes. This specific genotyping is not established in clinical practice, but for patients who are known to have these types of polymorphisms, a lower daily dose of Crestor is recommended.
Race: Pharmacokinetic studies show an approximate 2-fold elevation in median AUC in Asian subjects compared with Caucasians. A population pharmacokinetic analysis revealed no clinically relevant differences in pharmacokinetics among Caucasian, Hispanic and Black or Afro-Caribbean groups.
Patients with renal impairment: Mild to moderate renal impairment (CLcr ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m2) had no influence on plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin. However, plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin increased to a clinically significant extent (about 3-fold) in patients with severe renal impairment (CLcr <30 mL/min/1.73 m2) not receiving hemodialysis compared with healthy subjects (CLcr >80 mL/min/1.73 m2).
Toxicology: Preclinical Safety Data: Preclinical data reveal no special hazards for humans based on conventional studies of safety pharmacology, repeated dose toxicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity potential. In a rat pre and postnatal study, reproductive toxicity was evident from reduced litter sizes, litter weight and pup survival. These effects were observed at maternotoxic doses at systemic exposures several times above the therapeutic exposure level.
