The FDA has informed healthcare providers and consumers about the safe use of rosuvastatin (Crestor) following additions to the safety labeling of the statin.

The FDA is reemphasizing recommendations made in the product's original labeling about the need to consider using lower starting doses of the drug in some individuals as a way to reduce the risk of rhabdomyolysis. The revised labeling notes that this may be particularly important for Asian American patients because clinical data suggest that Asian Americans' levels of rosuvastatin are approximately twofold that of the general population taking the same dose of the drug. As a result, the recent approval of the drug for use in Japan included recommendation of a starting dose of 2.5 mg with maximal titration to 20 mg. In the United States, rosuvastatin is available in 5 mg to 40 mg doses.