The US Food and Drug Administration April 13 approved a new painkiller, Mobic, to treat osteoarthritis. Mobic, or meloxicam, will be marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim and Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories. The new drug would compete against GD Searle's Celebrex and Merck's Vioxx. Vioxx and Celebrex are part of a class of pain and arthritis drugs that block the Cox-2 enzyme, which is thought to cause inflammation, without blocking the closely related Cox-1 enzyme, which protects the stomach lining.
Mobic falls in the category of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, such as aspirin and other traditional painkillers. NSAIDs block the Cox-2 and Cox-1 enzymes, which can cause ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems, leading to an estimated 16,000 deaths from such side effects in the US each year. Boehringer Ingelheim said that Mobic would be priced about 20% less than Celebrex and Vioxx for the starting and maintenance daily dose of 7.5 mg. Celebrex had sales of $1.5 billion in 1999, making it the fastest selling new drug in the world.
These drugs are not the long-term solution to arthritis. Generally following the diet and addressing the causal factors of disease is a far wiser strategy. If one has osteoarthritis glucosamine is a far wiser option. If one has rheumatoid arthritis be sure and read my 25 page physician protocol on how one can use antibiotics to successfully treat the mycoplasma infection that is frequently the cause of most rheumatic illnesses.
I trained with Dr. Doug Phillips last week who is one of the top biological dentists in the country and he was kind enough to share Dr. Omura's work which I have recently implemented. Dr. Omura has developed some incredible protocols which enhance any medication or nutrient from being optimally uptaken and delivered directly to the tissues. I have recently started working with that this week and will report on my observations in a future newsletter.