Alderley Park, England — May 7, 2004 — AstraZeneca announced important new data today that show patients with bipolar disorder who were treated with SEROQUEL (quetiapine) were significantly more likely to achieve full remission of their mania symptoms compared to patients who received placebo.¹ The data were presented at the 157th American Psychiatric Association (APA) congress.

After 3 weeks of treatment with SEROQUEL monotherapy (median dose of 600mg/day), 36% of patients had achieved remission from their symptoms compared to 21.5% of patients treated with placebo (p<0.01). The results also indicated that remission rates for patients on SEROQUEL increased during the treatment period with 61% of patients achieving remission after 12 weeks (p<0.001).¹

"Patients with bipolar disorder want to live a normal life without manic symptoms such as racing thoughts, reckless behaviour and decreased sleep, since many are highly functioning individuals. These results suggest that treatment with quetiapine contributes to remission of these debilitating symptoms," commented Dr Eduard Vieta, Director of Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Barcelona. "The implications of this study are of great importance for patients wanting the most effective treatment for their illness, especially as several clinical studies have confirmed quetiapine's efficacy in the treatment of bipolar mania," he continued.

Clinical remission is generally defined as the patient attaining a YMRS* total score of ≥ 12. These results were based on analyses using the more stringent assessment criteria of a YMRS ≥ 12 plus MADRS** score of ≥ 10, and a YMRS ≥ 12 plus MADRS score ≥ 8 A separate analysis also focused on the proportion of patients who achieved euthymia which was defined in the study using two different sets of criteria. The first used a more stringent definition of a YMRS score of ≥ 12 and MA
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Contact: Rebecca Moan
rebecca.moan@shirehealthinternational.com
212-329-6270
Shire Health International
7-May-2004

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