Safety and efficacy of roxatidine acetate. Evidence from pharmacodynamic and clinical trials

The effects of a new H2-receptor antagonist, roxatidine acetate, have been investigated in both clinical and pharmacodynamic trials in Europe and the United States. A series of four double-blind randomized studies are reviewed, reporting the effects of different dose regimens of roxatidine acetate compared with ranitidine and placebo in healthy volunteers using continuous intragastric pH monitoring. These pharmacodynamic studies clearly demonstrate that roxatidine acetate is an effective gastric antisecretory agent, which is up to twice as potent as ranitidine. The results of several clinical studies of roxatidine acetate in patients with gastric as well as duodenal ulcer conducted in Europe, Japan, and the United States are also reviewed. These studies show that roxatidine acetate is comparable to other potent H2-receptor antagonists in terms of cumulative healing rates, pain relief, and safety. Overall, the pharmacodynamic and clinical data indicate that the efficacy of roxatidine acetate 75 mg twice-daily (b.i.d.) does not differ significantly from ranitidine 150 mg b.i.d. Roxatidine acetate is equally effective in the treatment of peptic disease including gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, and reflux esophagitis.