Pfizer's Enablex Slows Progression of Arthritis

Pfizer's new rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enablex (tenidap) has shown itself to be effective in slowing the progression of rheumatoid arthritis, according to clinical X-ray data presented at the American College of Rheumatology meeting last week. Enablex is currently under review at the US Food and Drug Administration.

Tenidap is the first of a new class of drugs which have a dual mode of action in the treatment of arthritis. As well as blocking the production of prostaglandins (thus relieving the pain and swelling of joints found in arthritis), tenidap also blocks the production of cytokines, such as interleukin-6, which are implicated in maintaining and exacerbating the erosive and degenerative aspects of chronic arthritis.

Clinical data supporting the efficacy of tenidap in arthritis, and its superiority to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, have been widely reported. It is generally accepted that tenidap appears to be as effective as a combination of an NSAID and a disease-modifying antiarthritic drug. The radiological studies reported at the ACR meeting provide the first reports of tenidap's effects on joint degeneration, according to John Niblack, executive vice president for R&D at Pfizer.