Scientists claim to have developed super-strength ibuprofen that can be taken every day without damaging the stomach, a breakthrough that could give pain relief to 30million people worldwide.
People suffering from conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis need to take a large number of tablets to numb the pain they suffer every day.
However, excessive use of the drug can cause gastrointestinal problems, and can even lead to death.
Last night, Oxford Pharmascience revealed that it had developed a 400mg ibuprofen pill that dramatically reduces the risk of any side effects.
The company, which specialises in taking medicines and making them better, safer and easier to take, announced details of the “gastric-safe” tablets to the stock market yesterday.
One of the UK’s leading arthritis charities, Arthritis Care UK, has given a cautious welcome to the development.
Chief executive Judi Rhys said: “Coping with the pain of arthritis is a massive challenge for the estimated 10million people in the UK with arthritis. Taking medication is clearly a route that many take and any news of safer ways to do this are of course welcome.
“But this reformulation of ibuprofen is still to be tested at a clinical level, so there are presumably still some years before it becomes available.”
Ibuprofen belongs to a medicine group called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are one of the most widely used classes of drugs, with more than 30million users worldwide consuming NSAIDs each day and annual sales of £7.4billion.
Despite this commercial success, long-term use of NSAIDs causes well-documented gastrointestinal side effects.
These include ulcers and bleeding and lead to significant morbidity and mortality in many patients.
Marcelo Bravo, chief technology officer of Oxford Pharmascience, said: “We are on track to take 400mg ibuprofen tablets into clinical pilot testing in early 2014.”