Golf News for Friday, November 11, 2005 | Charity

Crestor Charity Challenge donates $50k to Children's Healthcare

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Bart Bryant was named this week's Crestor® (rosuvastatin calcium) Charity Challenge winner for his first-place standing entering the final round of the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

The Crestor® Charity Challenge is a season-long competition that recognizes and rewards the tournament leader entering the final round at 35 PGA TOUR events. Through the program, now in its second year, AstraZeneca will donate $3.5 million a year to designated health and PGA TOUR charities. At each of the selected tournaments, a $100,000 contribution will be made, supporting the PGA TOUR's "Drive to a Billion" campaign which celebrates the spirit of giving that has helped the TOUR and its tournaments approach the milestone of $1 billion dollars in charitable giving.

For Bryant's performance, Crestor, an AstraZeneca pharmaceutical product, and the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola will donate $50,000 to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. In addition, $50,000 will be donated to the health care charity of Bryant's choice. Crestor® Charity Challenge winners and the tournament's designated charity will be recognized during the network or cable telecast of each tournament.

Last year, Tiger Woods and Jay Haas were in the lead entering the final round of the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. For their performances, AstraZeneca donated $50,000 to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, for a total of $100,000 over the past two years, at the TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola. Woods and Haas donated $25,000 to the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and the Cancer Society of Greenville County, respectively.

"Like AstraZeneca, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is committed to advancing healthcare," remarks Scott Hodoval, Vice President, Development at Children's. "Through innovative research, we look to find better ways to serve children in need. Through teaching, we look to prepare tomorrow's specialists and through quality initiatives, we look to lead the country in pursuit of high quality care for children. As a not-for-profit children's hospital, we need the support and vision of companies like AstraZeneca and Children's is proud to be a partner of the Crestor® Charity Challenge."

The Crestor® (rosuvastatin calcium) Charity Challenge is the centerpiece of a multi-year PGA TOUR partnership with AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - News). Last year, AstraZeneca donated $2.7 million through the program. Highlights from the CRESTOR® Charity Challenge include:

* Steve Lowery and Carl Pettersson were the Crestor® Charity Challenge winners at last week's Chrysler Championship

* Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson lead all players in 2005 with three (3) CCC victories (Singh: Mercedes Championship, Shell Houston Open and Buick Open; Mickelson: Buick Invitational, AT&T Pebble Beach and Ford Championship at Doral)

* The other multiple Crestor® Charity Challenge winners in 2005 are Luke Donald, Carl Pettersson, Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk, who have each won twice

* Singh has won eight (8) Crestor® Charity Challenges since the program's inception in 2004 resulting in $350,000 to the charities of his choice -- $150,000 of which was donated to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. (Singh tied for the lead entering the final round at two tournaments)

"After just one year, the Crestor® Charity Challenge has become a visible extension of the PGA TOUR's mission of giving back in local communities throughout America," said Tony Zook, senior vice president, commercial operations, AstraZeneca U.S. "Through AstraZeneca's support, the Crestor® Charity Challenge will play a major role in the PGA TOUR's 'Drive to a Billion' charitable program."

Fans can log on to http://www.crestor.pgatour.com to read about past Crestor® Charity Challenge winners and learn more about Crestor. Crestor is the presenting sponsor of TOUR Fantasy Golf at http://www.pgatour.com/fantasy and the PGA TOUR's year-end charity special that will air in December.

About Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, one of the leading pediatric healthcare systems in the country, is a not-for-profit organization that benefits from the generous philanthropic and volunteer support of our community. With 430 licensed beds in two hospitals and more than 450,000 annual patient visits, Children's is nationally recognized for excellence in cardiac, cancer, neonatal, orthopaedic and transplant care, as well as in many other pediatric specialties. Child magazine ranks Children's as one of the top 10 children's hospitals nationwide and Children's is among U.S. News & World Report's top pediatric hospitals. To learn more about Children' Healthcare of Atlanta, visit http://www.choa.org or call 404-250-KIDS.

About Crestor
Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) is a once-daily prescription medication for use as an adjunct to diet in the treatment of various lipid disorders including primary hypercholesterolemia, mixed dyslipidemia and isolated hypertriglyceridemia. It is a member of the statin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) class of drug therapy. Crestor has not been determined to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. For patients with hypercholesterolemia and mixed dyslipidemia, the usual recommended starting dose of Crestor is 10 mg. Initiation of therapy with 5 mg once daily should be considered for patients requiring less aggressive LDL-C reductions or who have predisposing factors for myopathy. For patients with marked hypercholesterolemia (LDL-C >190 mg/dL) and aggressive lipid targets, a 20-mg starting dose may be considered. AstraZeneca licensed worldwide rights to Crestor from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi & Co., Ltd.

Important Safety Information
Crestor is contraindicated in patients with active liver disease or unexplained persistent elevations of serum transaminases, in women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, and in nursing mothers. It is recommended that liver function tests be performed before and at 12 weeks following both the initiation of therapy and any elevation of dose, and periodically (e.g., semiannually) thereafter. Rare cases of rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure secondary to myoglobinuria have been reported with Crestor and with other drugs in this class. The 40-mg dose of Crestor is reserved for those patients who have not achieved LDL-C goal at 20 mg. Crestor should be prescribed with caution in patients with predisposing factors for myopathy, such as renal impairment. Patients should be advised to promptly report unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, particularly if accompanied by malaise or fever. Crestoris generally well-tolerated. Adverse reactions have usually been mild and transient. The most frequent adverse events thought to be related to Crestor were myalgia (3.3%), constipation (1.4%), asthenia (1.3%), abdominal pain (1.3%) and nausea (1.3%).

A full copy of the prescribing information for Crestor is available at http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/pi/crestor.pdf or by calling 1-877-420-7249.

About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of over $21.4 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, oncology and neuroscience products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $9.6 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com



 
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