New Arthritis Drugs Praised
Tuesday November 10 5:58 PM ET
By PHIL GALEWITZ AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - The pharmaceutical industry is announcing big gains in the fight against arthritis this week, with several companies reporting they can now reduce pain and slow progression of the
often debilitating illness.
The federal government has approved two new drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis since September, drugs that aim to help those with moderate-to-severe forms of the disease.
But industry observers say the biggest advances will occur next year with the expected approval of arthritis drugs made by Searle Inc. and Merck & Co. These drugs will treat the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis without the stomach problems associated with today's over-the-counter and prescription drugs, the companies say.
These drugs, called Cox-2 inhibitors, are likely to be marketed to people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis - or nearly 40 million Americans.
The arthritis drugs, those in testing and those on the market, are being showcased this week at the American College of Rheumatology meeting in San Diego, where each company is trying to show arthritis doctors why its treatment works best.
''This is a tremendous time,'' said Dr. Brian Butcher, an official with the Arthritis Foundation. ''We have gone from where we could not offer much hope to people to where we can diagnose, provide early treatment and stop the progression of the disease.''
Rheumatoid arthritis afflicts 2.1 million Americans. It occurs when patients' immune systems go awry and attack their joints, causing inflammation and stiffness as rogue immune cells eat away cartilage.
Osteoarthritis affects more than 37 million Americans, and is usually associated with the aging process.
In the past year, doctors wrote 76.7 million prescriptions for anti-arthritis drugs, according to IMS Health, a research group. With a number of new drugs coming on the market, analysts expect sales to increase from $1.9 billion to $3 billion by 2001.
Among its many players, the pain wars pit Merck, the largest drug company worldwide in terms of sale, against the fastest growing company, Pfizer. Pfizer will market Celebra, the Cox-2 inhibitor
made by Searle, a division of Monsanto. The federal Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee has scheduled a hearing on Celebra for Dec. 1.
Merck hopes to file for FDA approval for its Vioxx drug later this year. Company officials say they are not concerned about lagging behind Celebra for federal approval. One reason is because Vioxx
is designed as a once-a-day pill, while Celebra will have to be taken several times daily.
Dr. Bennett Shapiro, an executive vice president with Merck, attributed the surge of interest in arthritis to scientific discoveries in 1991 that showed that two different enzymes cause the body to make hormones that bring pain and inflammation and also protect the stomach lining. As a result, drugs could be developed that stopped the pain, but left the stomach alone.
Immunex Corp., which won federal approval last week for its Enbrel arthritis drug, is working with American Home Products Corp. to market it. Enbrel is given via injection twice a week and studies show it reduces pain and duration of morning stiffness and improves swollen and tender joints. Enbrel used the meeting in San Diego to show that the drug is also effective in children.
Centocor Inc. used the meeting to show its experimental drug Remicade also provides relief from rheumatoid arthritis. Remicade is already approved to treat Crohn's disease, an intestinal disorder. The company hopes to win approval to treat arthritis with the drug next year.
Enbrel and Remicade will compete with Arava, the arthritis drug approved by the FDA in September. Arava, made by Hoechst Marion Roussell, bills itself as the only approved drug that helps stop the progression of rheumatoid arthritis.
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