Pfizer’s Celebrex meets goals in new safety study

Pfizer has reported positive data from a new phase IV clinical trial carried out to evaluate the safety profile of its arthritis therapy Celebrex.

The drug was assessed among paediatric patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis to evaluate the potential effects of the therapy on blood pressure levels, in response to concerns that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs of this kind could lead to the onset of hypertension.

After six weeks, the results demonstrated virtually no difference in changes to systolic and diastolic blood pressure among Celebrex patients and those in the control group, meaning Pfizer's drug met both its primary and secondary endpoints in the trial.

This data will add to the positive clinical profile of Celebrex, which has been approved in 134 countries for a wide range of indications.

In the US, it is available as a treatment for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, acute pain and primary dysmenorrhoea.

Last month, Pfizer announced it has received a conditional marketing authorisation from the European Commission for Bosulif, a new therapy for chronic myelogenous leukaemia.