Hot on the heels of a recent warning concerning the drug Prexige, regulators in New Zealand have now banned the controversial arthritis painkiller being sold in certain doses, following Australia’s lead in so doing. As dictated by Medsafe - a branch of the Ministry of Health - Prexige, in 200 and 400 milligram formats, will no longer be supplied on the New Zealand market.

Stewart Jessamine, a spokesman from the group, described how the decision was reached after consulting with counterpart regulators in Australia, the UK and Singapore. In conclusion, he said, "This increased risk of liver damage for Prexige outweighs any of the potential benefits claimed for the 200mg and 400mg dose." In its 100mg version, however, Prexige, will remain available in New Zealand, albeit under very close scrutiny.

Earlier on in August, as many as 60,000 people in Australia were advised to cease using Prexige with immediate effect. At this time, authorities in New Zealand offered reassurance that use of the medication there was not on an equivalent level. As per Dr Jessamine, a mere “few thousand” patients in New Zealand are currently taking Prexige, of which approximately 1,000 are prescribed it in 400mg form. Since May 2007, he added, up to 600 people had bought Prexige in 100mg format.

As previously highlighted in Pharmaceutical International, Prexige occupies the same drug class group as Vioxx – the Merck product withdrawn worldwide three years ago, on account of the side effects associated with it.

In recent days, health campaigners within the UK have lobbied that doctors make careful assessment of patients before prescribing Prexige. Since 2006, 16 people in this country have experienced extreme side effects after taking the drug, of which one was liver-related. In Australia, as a precursor to the ban, two people died after developing liver complications.

Source – Pharmaceutical International’s Australasia Reporter

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