AstraZeneca and Abbott End License Agreement for the Development of CERTRIAD

WILMINGTON, Del., Dec. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- AstraZeneca announced today that it has notified Abbott that it will discontinue the development of CERTRIAD(TM) (rosuvastatin calcium and fenofibric acid), which was being investigated for the treatment of mixed dyslipidemia. This means the co-development and license agreement with Abbott will end on January 22, 2011.

A Complete Response Letter (CRL) for the CERTRIAD New Drug Application (NDA) was received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 30, 2010.

The companies reached this decision after careful review and consideration of the CRL and the resulting regulatory delay, and have determined that the development of CERTRIAD is no longer commercially attractive.

AstraZeneca will continue to focus on other development priorities both within and outside of the cardiovascular disease therapeutic area.

NOTES TO EDITORS: About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. As a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease medicines, AstraZeneca generated global revenues of $32.8 billion in 2009. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $14.8 billion healthcare business.

For more information about AstraZeneca in the US or our AZ&Me(TM) Prescription Savings programs, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/ or call 1-800-AZandMe (292-6363).

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