Novartis painkiller ‘has less impact on blood pressure’

Novartis has announced the results of a trial of its painkiller Prexige (lumiracoxib), with the compound having a “significantly” lower impact on blood pressure in osteoarthritis patients with controlled hypertension when compared to ibuprofen.

The company reports that osteoarthritis patients with controlled hypertension administered with Prexige experienced a slight reduction in blood pressure, while those treated with standard non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen saw a small increase.

Prexige is an orally-administered selective Cox-2 inhibitor that does not contain a sulphur molecule – which has been connected to skin reaction in patients receiving other Cox-2 inhibitors.

Given as a 100 mg once-daily tablet, the compound is approved as a treatment for some forms of osteoarthritic pain of the knee and hip in the European Union.

Tom MacDonald, professor of clinical pharmacology at the Hypertension Research Centre at Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, said: “NSAIDs, including some COX-2s, have been associated with raised blood pressure and this effect may be in part responsible for the increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with this class of medications.”

He added that the clinical data from this trial suggests that lumiracoxib could have a lower impact on blood pressure than ibuprofen.

Prexige was launched in the UK in December 2005 and finally completed the mutual recognition and was cleared for approval across the European Union in November 2006.