FDA says No to Merck's New Pain Medication

Merck & Co., Inc. announced on Thursday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Arthritis Advisory Committee refused to approve pain medication Arcoxia (etoricoxib) for the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis in the United States.

Arcoxia has been under review by the FDA as an investigational selective COX-2 inhibitor since the New Drug Application (NDA) was submitted in December 2003. It is at present available in 63 countries in Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region and Middle East/Northern Africa.

“We are disappointed in today's outcome. We continue to believe that ARCOXIA has the potential to become a valuable treatment option for many Americans suffering from osteoarthritis," said Peter Kim, Ph.D., president, Merck Research Laboratories. “We are committed to continuing to work with the FDA.”

Arcoxia and Vioxx are the two types of NSAIDs called Cox-2 inhibitors, developed to be gentler on the stomach. The only Cox-2 inhibitor still sold in the U.S. is Pfizer Inc.'s Celebrex. In 2005, Bextra , another drug was withdrawn by The New York company.

The company had wanted permission from FDA for selling Arcoxia, which is used to treat the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis. The Whitehouse Station, N.J. company said its drug should be an option for the estimated 21 million Americans who suffer from osteoarthritis.

Merck conducted a comprehensive and robust clinical program that included efficacy and safety findings for Arcoxia 30 mg and 60 mg once daily from 11 studies in patients with osteoarthritis.

Merck continues to believe the overall benefit to risk profile is favorable to support approval of Arcoxia for the proposed indication of treatment for the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis; safety findings from 7 additional studies in other patient populations; and robust data from the large 34,000-patient, long-term MEDAL (Multinational Etoricoxib and Diclofenac Arthritis Long-Term) Program.

The Committee's recommendation will be considered by the FDA as part of its review of the NDA that Merck filed in December 2003 (for a 60 mg once daily dose) along with review of a separate related NDA for a 30 mg once daily dose of Arcoxia submitted in April 2004.

The FDA is not bound by the Committee's recommendation but takes its advice into consideration when reviewing the application for an investigational agent. The anticipated date for action by the FDA is April 27, 2007, the six-month timeframe under current FDA policy.

Merck will continue to market Arcoxia outside the U.S., where it has been approved for a broad range of indications, including osteoarthritis.

In terms of sales Merck is at number 4 position which is behind Pfizer(up $0.21 to $26.67, Charts), Johnson & Johnson (up $0.43 to $62.35, Charts) and Abbott Laboratories (up $1.08 to $58.49, Charts).

The stock closed at $50.21 a share Friday, up from the previous close of $46.36.