Ruling on arthritis drugs awaited

The Irish Medicines Board said it is not issuing any new recommendations on the prescribing of the arthritis drugs Cox 2 inhibitors until a Europe-wide recommendation is made on the drugs at the end of this month.

A number of concerns have been raised about the cardiovascular safety of these drugs following the withdrawal of one brand of Cox 2 inhibitor, Vioxx, last September due to cardiac safety concerns.

Since then, cardiac adverse event concerns have been raised about two other Cox 2 drugs, Celebrex and Bextra.

The latest issue of the Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin in the UK said there were potential hazards in prescribing Cox 2 drugs to a patient at risk of heart disease and said it could see few if any situations in which Cox 2 drugs were unequivocally indicated.

The European Medicines Agency, of which the IMB is a member, recently decided to speed up its review of Cox 2 inhibitors in view of the recent safety concerns and will be reporting later this month.

The IMB told irishhealth.com that it would not be issuing any new advice on the Cox 2 inhibitors until the European Medicines Agency issued its findings.

Currently, its advice on these drugs is that doctors should follow carefully the summary of product characteristics of the Cox 2 drugs; especially the warning and precautions in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease.

It advises patients to be aware that this class of drug already contains warnings regarding heart problems and if patients have any concerns they should consult their doctor. http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=6800