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| |  New Arthritis Treatment, Celebrex, Available In Canada TORONTO, ON -- April 27, 1999 -- Celebrex™ (celecoxib), a breakthrough drug for the treatment of arthritis will be available today, April 27, in most pharmacies across Canada. Celebrex was recently approved in Canada for acute and chronic use in the relief of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults. Discovered and developed by Searle, Celebrex will be co-promoted by Searle Canada, the pharmaceutical business unit of Monsanto Canada Inc., and Pfizer Canada Inc. Celebrex is available by prescription in two strengths, 100 mg and 200 mg. The recommended therapeutic dose of Celebrex for OA is 200 mg daily administered as a single dose or 100 mg twice daily. For RA, the recommended therapeutic dose is 100 mg to 200 mg, twice daily. The retail price at pharmacies for Celebrex will be approximately $0.69 to $0.72 for the 100 mg and $1.38 to $1.45 for the 200 mg, excluding professional dispensing fees. There are over four million people suffering from arthritis in Canada, with one in seven people affected. Arthritis is also the most common cause of long-term disability in Canada. Almost two million Canadians take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on a daily basis and up to 20,000 experience severe gastrointestinal (GI) complications such as bleeding and perforations. "By providing a much safer alternative to traditional arthritis therapies, Celebrex will mean significantly better overall management of arthritis," said Dr. William Bensen, a rheumatologist of Hamilton, Ontario, and the lead Canadian investigator who saw more patients in Celebrex clinical trials than any other investigator in the world. "Doctors will undoubtedly feel more confident prescribing a medication that is safer and we’ll likely see an improvement in patient compliance because the ‘fear factor’ associated with traditional anti-inflammatories is greatly reduced." A recent newspaper article linked Celebrex with adverse events in the United States. A medical review of the individual reports indicates no direct connection between usage of the drug and any of the reported events. Dr. Bensen commented, "I am not at all concerned about this article from the U.S. and I am looking forward to prescribing Celebrex for my patients." In one of the most extensive clinical programs in arthritis to date, Celebrex was shown to be as effective as the maximum prescription-strength NSAIDs, naproxen and ibuprofen in treating arthritis pain and inflammation. More importantly, Celebrex was associated with significantly fewer upper GI ulcers than traditionally used arthritis medications naproxen and ibuprofen. Additionally, unlike traditional NSAIDs, Celebrex had no effect on blood clotting and demonstrated no drug interactions with methotrexate and warfarin, therapies commonly taken by arthritis patients. In the US, 2.5 million Celebrex prescriptions have been filled since the drug was launched twelve weeks ago. It is anticipated that Celebrex will establish a new record for sales worldwide in the first year, making it the most successful new drug ever, even exceeding Viagra. This expectation is based on the fact that Celebrex is a breakthrough product for the treatment of arthritis and will fill an unmet medical need for patients.
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