Febuxostat, sold under the brand names Uloric and Adenuric among others, is a medication used long-term to treat gout due to high uric acid levels. It is generally recommended only for people who cannot take allopurinol. When initially started, medications such as NSAIDs are often recommended to prevent gout flares. It is taken by mouth.Common side effects include liver problems, nausea, joint pain, and a rash. Serious side effects include an increased risk of death as compared with allopurinol, Stevens–Johnson syndrome, and anaphylaxis. Use is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding. It inhibits xanthine oxidase, thus reducing production of uric acid in the body.Febuxostat was approved for medical use in the European Union in 2008 and in the United States in 2009. A generic version was approved in 2019 and is available as of 2020. Medical uses
Febuxostat is used to treat chronic gout and hyperuricemia. Febuxostat is typically recommended only for people who cannot tolerate allopurinol. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence concluded that febuxostat is more effective than standard doses of allopurinol, but not more effective than higher doses of allopurinol. Febuxostat is in the US pregnancy category C; there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.
Febuxostat and its metabolites are eliminated via the urine (49% of the total substance, comprising 3% unchanged febuxostat, 30% febuxostat glucuronide, 13% active metabolites and their glucuronides, and 3% unknown entities) and via the faeces (45%, of which 12% unchanged febuxostat, 1% glucuronide, 25% active metabolites and their glucuronides, and 7% unknown entities). Elimination half-life is five to eight hours. History
Febuxostat was discovered by scientists at the Japanese pharmaceutical company Teijin in 1998. Teijin partnered the drug with TAP Pharmaceuticals in the US and Ipsen in Europe.Ipsen obtained marketing approval for febuxostat from the European Medicines Agency in April 2008, Takeda obtained FDA approval in February 2009, and Teijin obtained approval from the Japanese authorities in 2011. Ipsen exclusively licensed its European rights to Menarini in 2009. Teijin partnered with Astellas for distribution in China and southeast Asia. Society and culture
Cost
In the UK, NICE has found that febuxostat has a higher cost/benefit ratio than allopurinol and on that basis recommended febuxostat as a second-line drug for people who cannot use allopurinol.In 2010, before it became generic in the United States, it cost about US$160 per month as opposed to allopurinol which was about $US14 per month. Trade names
Febuxostat is marketed as Adenuric in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan. In Pakistan it is launched by SOLACE Pharmaceuticals a sister subsidiary of SJG, Uloric in the US, Goturic and Goutex in Latin America, Feburic in Japan, Donifoxate in Egypt and is generic in several countries and is available by many names in those countries. References
External links
"Febuxostat".