Lobbying for better arthritis drugs

By KATHERINE HOBY

Access to the best arthritis drugs is an issue of basic human rights, Arthritis New Zealand says.

Chief executive Alasdair Finnie says access to the best quality drugs for New Zealand's arthritis sufferers is one of the organisation's main goals.

"It is unacceptable to deny people with arthritis access to good quality drugs."

He believes Pharmac needs to subsidise a range of leading-edge drugs for sufferers.

"There are a number of new generation drugs available.

"Some are superior because of reduced side-effects and others actually help impede the progress of arthritis."

Mr Finnie says drugs such as Celebrex and Vioxx, which are classed as cox-2 inhibitors, offer greater relief for those with chronic arthritis.

"Their use will also reduce the bill to the state, as serious gastric surgery from the use of standard arthritis drugs accounts for 5800 hospitalisations a year at a cost of about $8 million."

Mr Finnie says appropriate medication can mean the difference between a person occupying a hospital bed, or retaining a high level of personal independence by coping at home.

Pharmac medical director Peter Moodie said cox-2s were significantly more expensive than conventional arthritis drugs.

"We're talking 10 times more expensive here," he said.

The two different types of drugs were equivalent in pain relief effectiveness, though cox-2s seemed to have less gastric side-effects.

He said cox-2s were thought to have other side-effects.

"It comes down to the fact that the benefits of cox-2s simply don't justify the seriously expensive price."

nzherald.co.nz/health