The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7379 p716
10 December 2005

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Febuxostat effective in gout

Febuxostat, a selective non-purine inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, is more effective than allopurinol at lowering serum urate, a study involving 762 gout patients has shown. Patients received febuxostat (80mg or 120mg) or allopurinol (300mg) once daily for 52 weeks. The primary endpoint was urate levels lower than 6mg/dL. Longer studies are needed to determine superiority in clinical outcome (New England Journal of Medicine 2005;353:2450).