AstraZeneca demonstrates new Nexium data

AstraZeneca has released the details of a new study concerning erosive oesophagitis caused by gastro-oesophageal acid reflux disease (GORD, known as GERD in the US).

The trial, which used AstraZeneca’s Nexium drug, discovered that the oesophagus was more likely to heal if patients’ gastric acid was well controlled after five days of therapy. It showed that in patients whose oesophagus had healed well, their stomach acid was well-controlled 61.3 per cent of the time, compared to 42.1 per cent of the time in unhealed patients.

Nexium is a proton-pump inhibitor which reduces the production of stomach acid. The company says that most oesophageal erosions heal within four to eight weeks of using the drug.

Philip Katz MD, lead author of the study, remarked: “This is the first prospective study that showed an association between control of intragastric pH and clinical outcomes in GERD patients.”

“The results further support intragastric pH as a surrogate marker for assessing the efficacy of antisecretory therapy in GERD,” he concluded.

Nexium is AstraZeneca’s biggest seller, bringing in $1.19 billion (630 million pounds) during the first quarter of 2006. In March the company filed a lawsuit against Ivax’s application to produce a generic version of Nexium. AstraZeneca said it would “vigorously defend” any patent rights concerning Nexium. It is one of the world’s best-selling drugs.

© Adfero Ltd