An oral anti-inflammatory medication for treating patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is under development stage with efforts from Chelsea Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company specializing in treatment for RA and other immunological disease.

The research is presently in the Phase I clinical trials in the U.K. This drug is believed to help women to treat their condition in an effective manner as compared to the presently available options as it is less arduous.

This potential therapy that is known as CH-1504 was initially developed by Dr. M. Gopal Nair, a professor and vice-chairman at the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of South Alabama.

From News-Medical.Net:

Current treatment options for RA include over-the-counter oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other pain relievers; oral steroids; but the gold standard for treatment is still methotrexate, a drug that been used for nearly 30 years. Newly available compounds known as biologic response modifiers, such as etanercept and infliximab are used when the disease progresses (mostly in combination with methotrexate) but have to be injected and are very expensive.

While methotrexate is often effective, long-term chronic doses of the drug can be toxic to the liver, kidneys and other organs. Short-term tolerability issues such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea also often limit its use.

“Given the problems that many patients have tolerating methotrexate along with its long-term safety concerns, a drug candidate that is proven to be as effective or more effective than with fewer side effects would be a major breakthrough in the treatment of RA. This may prompt patients to treat their condition earlier and continue treatment longer,” says Dr. Pedder.

Dr. Simon Pedder, CEO of Chelsea Therapeutics, remarked that drug candidates such as CH-1504 may help younger women to go for early treatment of RA for getting benefited from effective management.