New research indicates that Arcoxia (etoricoxib) is a well-tolerated treatment for arthritis and relieves pain as well as ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Motrin or Advil, for example.

Arcoxia is one of the newest members of the COX-2 inhibitor type of painkillers. Like Vioxx and other members of this class, it has recently come under scrutiny regarding a possible link to Heart attack and Stroke. As such, the US Food and Drug Administration is awaiting further safety data before approving the drug.

Dr. Judith A. Boice, from Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey, and colleagues compared Arcoxia with ibuprofen and inactive “placebo” as a treatment for arthritis of the hip and knee.

A total of 528 patients participated in the 12-week study.

The researchers’ findings appear in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Arcoxia and ibuprofen took about 2 weeks to achieve maximum effectiveness and this level of symptom control was maintained for the remaining 10 weeks. Both drugs were significantly better than placebo at reducing arthritis pain and improving function. In addition, both drugs were generally well tolerated.

“For patients with (arthritis), treatment with etoricoxib…is well tolerated and provides sustained therapeutic efficacy that is superior to placebo and clinically comparable to ibuprofen,” the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic Proceedings, April 2005.