AstraZeneca announces European Medicines Agency approval of new gout drug

AstraZeneca has announced that a new drug designed to treat patients with gout has been approved by the European Medicines Agency for being made into 200 mg capsules.

Lesinurad is a uric acid reabsorption inhibitor (SURI) and is intended to be used alongside the xanthine oxidase inhibitors allopurinol or febuxostat to help to lessen symptoms associated with gout.

The Marketing Authorisation Application to the European Medicines Agency has been successful, following a series of three 12-month-long phase III trials to determine the effectiveness of the drug in comparison to placebo treatments.

These trials allowed experts from Ardea Biosciences, a member of the AstraZeneca group, to measure the safety and efficiency of lesinurad when taken in conjunction with the other xanthine oxidase inhibitors.

As there are believed to be more than 15.8 million diagnosed cases of gout worldwide, it is hoped the new drug will help to ease the symptoms associated with the inflammatory form of arthritis for a significant number of patients in the future.