When AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals group, received regulatory approval for its anti-cholesterol drug Crestor it seemed set for the launch of a "blockbuster". A little over two years later, the mood of the market is distinctly more reserved.

The latest negative sign came in a report this week by Deutsche Bank, Astra Zeneca's broker, highlighting that the company had informed regulators in December of a case of a patient taking Crestor who died in late 2004. While there is considerable debate about the significance of the case, it follows a string of bad news over the drug.