New COX-2 drug - trial results
Reproduced from Issue 108 of Arthritis Today
Clinical trials have shown that the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib works as well as existing NSAIDs – and has fewer side effects on the stomach.
As part of a world-wide 132-centre study – with Professor Paul Emery of Leeds General Infirmary leading the British trial – more than 600 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were randomly given celecoxib and diclofenac. Of the 430 who later underwent an endoscopy after six months, 33 patients on diclofenac and eight on celecoxib developed duodenal ulcers. Those who withdrew from the trial with gastro-intestinal problems were nearly three times higher in the diclofenac group than in the celecoxib group.
The trial was supported by Searle, the drug company which produces celecoxib. The drug (brand name Celebrex) is currently awaiting its European licence; it is already licensed in the US for both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Vioxx, currently the only COX-2 inhibitor available in the UK, is licensed only for osteoarthritis.
- Professor Emery's team at the Early Arthritis Clinic in Leeds have won the Rheumatology Team of the Year, as awarded by Hospital Doctor magazine.
