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Arthritis sufferers benefit from £26m trial in Scotland

December 17, 2007

Scotland will lead the way in a £26m drugs trial launched yesterday. The SCOT Trial (Standard Care versus Celecoxib Outcome Trial), will compare different types of treatment for arthritis, a series of conditions which affects around nine million people in the UK.

Scotland has been chosen to lead the project because of its unique patient electronic registration and tracking system. The trial compares traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Ibuprofen with a newer NSAID called Celecoxib.

Both types of NSAID are prescribed for arthritis but doctors want to know how the newer drugs compare with the older in terms of long term safety.

The University of Dundee will lead the trial in partnership with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen Universities. There is also collaboration with Professor Chris Hawkey, a world opinion leader in the effects of these drugs on the stomach based at Nottingham University, and Professor Jesper Hallas at the University of Southern Denmark.

Tom MacDonald, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at Dundee University, said: “This trial is of international significance because it will compare the various NSAID treatments prescribed for arthritis sufferers in usual care. There has been a long running debate as to the most effective pain relief with fewest side effects. This study will help us draw some solid conclusions to benefit arthritis sufferers.”

Professor Ian Ford from the Robertson Centre for Biostatistics at Glasgow University explains: “Scotland now has one of the best electronic patient record systems in the world. We can harness the power of the information this gives us to examine medicines in the real life setting of care within the NHS.”

Four hundred GP practices and 16,000 patients will participate in the three-year trial.

Statistics show that a total of 2.55 million prescriptions were issued in Scotland for the treatment of various forms of arthritis during 2005/6.

Source: The Herald