UPDATED CLINICAL SAFETY EXPERIENCE WITH FLUVASTATIN

Clinical experience with fluvastatin in > 1,800 North American patients treated for an average of 61, weeks has shown it to be safe and well tolerated. Frequencies of transaminase and creatine kinase elevations compare favorably with those observed during long-term administration of other 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors. Further, whereas frank rhabdomyolysis has been encountered with treatment with all other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, this syndrome has not been observed to date with fluvastatin in studies here or abroad; a single case of myopathy, which was probably related to physical exertion, was reported in a patient receiving fluvastatin. Although dyspepsia was observed more commonly in fluvastatin patients, the incidence, along with that of other adverse events (e.g., headache), and the number of treatment discontinuations proved statistically indistinguishable from those of placebo controls. Whether the favorable safety profile of fluvastatin is related to this synthetic agent's unique biopharmaceutical profile is a matter of ongoing long-term inquiry.