Healthy Skepticism Library item: 148

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Publication type: news

Saunders M.
Arthritis drug wins backing
The Australian 2004 Dec 20

Full text:

THE popular arthritis drug Celebrex should not be taken off the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme despite a new US study linking use of the drug to an increased risk of heart problems, according to Australian Medical Association president Bill Glasson.

Celebrex is one of the most costly drugs under the PBS system, costing taxpayers about $160million a year.

But Dr Glasson said despite the new findings, posted on the website of the manufacturer Pfizer Inc, the drug still had “enormous benefits” for most users.

If Celebrex was pulled off the market – matching the recent withdrawal of Vioxx, another product from the family of drugs known as Cox 2 inhibitors – all Cox 2 inhibitors would probably have to be removed, Dr Glasson said. The withdrawal of Vioxx came after it was found to lead to increased risk of heart disease.

The new study relating to the use of Celebrex in preventing colon polyps had shown that people who used between 400mg and 800mg of Celebrex daily had two and a half times the risk of developing major heart problems than those not taking the drug. But Dr Glasson said most users consumed well below that amount, taking only 100mg to 200mg daily.

“It really has not got a large side-effect profile. It’s well tolerated,” he said.

The alternative for arthritis sufferers if all Cox 2 inhibitors are taken off the market are non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs such as Voltaren and Naprosyn.

However, these drugs are known to cause gastrointestinal side-effects such as peptic ulcers, Dr Glasson said. “There is nothing to suggest that people who are on average doses of the drug are at risk of developing any cardiac manifestations,” he said.

Doctors are expecting the results of a Therapeutic Goods Administration review of the findings within weeks.