AstraZeneca: Nexium more effective than lansoprazole

AstraZeneca has revealed the findings of a new clinical study that demonstrates the superiority of Nexium, a proton pump inhibitor, over lansoprazole, sold in the UK under the brand name Zoton.

The study was designed to compare the effectiveness of the two drugs in healing erosive oesophageal damage caused by acid reflux disease, a condition caused by acid leaking into the oesophagus from the stomach.

The study revealed that patients who took 20mg doses of Nexium once every day showed better maintained healing of their oesophagus than those taking 15mg doses of lansoprazole. The remission rate, where there was no recurrence of erosive oesophagitis, was 84.8 per cent in Nexium patients and 75.9 per cent in lansoprazole patients.

Dr Kenneth DeVault, lead study investigator and director of gastrointestinal research at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Florida, remarked: “The study showed that esomeprazole (Nexium) was more effective than lansoprazole in meeting one of the important yardsticks for clinical success – maintaining healing of erosive oesophagitis.”

“Esomeprazole therapy was able to control both mucosal damage and reflux symptoms,” he added.

Nexium is AstraZeneca’s largest-selling drug, bringing in nearly $1.2 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year alone. It is used in the treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, healing and prevention of ulcers associated with some types of joint and muscle pain treatments, as well as in combination with antibiotics to treat ulcers in the stomach and upper intestine caused by bacteria.

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