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| |  Women's Substudy Of the Cholesterol and Recurrent Events (CARE) Trial PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 11, 1996 -- Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) is pleased with the results of the women's substudy of the Cholesterol and Recurrent Events (CARE) trial. The substudy, entitled "Women in CARE Have Earlier and Greater Response to Pravastatin," shows that women who have had a heart attack and have mildly elevated cholesterol levels, can dramatically reduce their risk of suffering another heart attack by taking the widely-prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication Pravachol(R) (pravastatin sodium). The substudy was led by Sandra Lewis, M.D., F.A.C.C., Director of Cardiac Research at Portland Cardiovascular Institute and a CARE investigator. The women's substudy, which examined 576 subjects, provides the most significant data -- in terms of cholesterol lowering -- on women and heart disease to date. The study demonstrated that Pravachol reduced the risk of death from heart attack and coronary heart disease in women by 43%, non-fatal recurrent heart attack by 57%, and significantly reduced the need for invasive procedures such as balloon angioplasty (48%) and bypass surgery (39%). Equally remarkable is that these benefits were observed early, within six to 12 months of therapy initiation. The women's substudy is a component of the larger, landmark Cholesterol and Recurrent Events trial which demonstrated that therapy with Pravachol, along with diet and exercise, reduces the risk of recurrent heart attack and death from cardiovascular disease in patients with mildly elevated cholesterol levels. In CARE, a total of 4,159 patients, both men and women, were monitored over a five-year period. All participants in the randomized, double-blind study ranged in age from 21 to 75, and had suffered a heart attack in the two years prior to enrollment. The primary endpoint was a fatal coronary event or non-fatal myocardial infarction. Patients studied in CARE had an average total cholesterol level of 209 mg/dl, a level similar to that of the U.S. population. In addition, the CARE findings are particularly compelling because the majority of people who have suffered a heart attack in the United States have mildly elevated cholesterol levels. Although heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S., women remain largely under treated. Bristol-Myers Squibb is encouraged that the CARE substudy results will have a positive impact on the treatment of heart disease in women.
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