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Celebrex Now Available In The U.S. For Arthritis Treatment CHICAGO, IL -- Feb. 23, 1999 -- G.D. Searle & Co.’s and Pfizer Inc.’s Celebrex(TM) (celecoxib) is now available in the United States to relieve the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) and adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Celebrex was designed using advanced molecular technology. In the body, there are two enzymes that are called COX-1 and COX-2. COX-1 helps regulate normal cell function in the stomach and blood. COX-2 plays a role in causing arthritis pain and inflammation. It is believed that Celebrex works by primarily inhibiting COX-2 and, at therapeutic doses, does not inhibit COX-1. "Celecoxib is the first arthritis product to target only the COX-2 enzyme," said Jay Goldstein, MD, associate professor of medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago. "Patients now have a treatment option that will effectively relieve their arthritis pain and inflammation with potentially fewer side effects, most notably in the gastrointestinal [GI] tract." Typical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit both COX-1 and COX-2. Use of these medications may lead to stomach ulcers and other serious complications, such as gastrointestinal bleeding. In fact, a recent study estimates that these complications cause 107,000 hospitalisations and 16,500 deaths each year in the U.S. Tested in clinical trials that involved over 13,000 patients and healthy volunteers, Celebrex was shown to be as effective as the prescription-strength NSAID naproxen in treating arthritis pain and inflammation. Importantly, Celebrex was associated with significantly fewer endoscopically observed upper GI ulcers than prescription-strength naproxen and another widely used prescription-strength medication, ibuprofen. The correlation between endoscopic findings and the incidence of clinically serious upper GI events has not been fully established. The most common side effects of Celebrex were dyspepsia, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Discontinuation due to each of these side effects was less than one percent. Although Celebrex has a low potential for stomach ulcers, serious GI tract ulcerations can occur without warning. Physicians and patients should remain alert for signs of GI bleeding. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version