Aceclofenac is a

nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are members of a Indication (medicine), therapeutic drug class which Analgesic, reduces pain, Anti-inflammatory, decreases inflammation, Antipyretic, decreases fever, and Antithrombotic, prevents bl ...

(NSAID) analog of

diclofenac Diclofenac, sold under the brand name Voltaren among others, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain and inflammatory diseases such as gout. It can be taken orally (swallowed by mouth), inserted rectally as a ...

. It is used for the relief of pain and inflammation in

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of articular cartilage, joint cartilage and underlying bone. A form of arthritis, it is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, affect ...

and

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis from the disease spectrum of axial spondyloarthritis. It is characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine, typically where the spine joins the pelvis. With AS, eye and bow ...

. It was patented in 1983 and approved for medical use in 1992.

Side effects

Aceclofenac should not be given to people with

porphyria Porphyria ( or ) is a group of disorders in which substances called porphyrins build up in the body, adversely affecting the skin or nervous system. The types that affect the nervous system are also known as Porphyria#Acute porphyrias, acute p ...

or breast-feeding mothers, and is not recommended for children. It should be avoided near term in a pregnant woman because of the risk of having a premature closure of ductus arteriosus leading to fetal hydrops in the neonate.

Chemistry

Aceclofenac (C₁₆H₁₃Cl₂NO₄), chemically 2- phenylacetooxyacetic acid is a crystalline powder with a molecular weight of 354.19. It is practically insoluble in water with good permeability. It is metabolized in human hepatocytes and human microsomes to form -(2',6'-dichloro-4'-hydroxy- phenylamino) phenylacetoxyacetic acid as the major metabolite, which is then further conjugated. According to the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) drug substances are classified to four classes upon their solubility and permeability. Aceclofenac falls under the BCS Class II, poorly soluble and highly permeable drug. Aceclofenac works by inhibiting the action of cyclooxygenase (COX) that is involved in the production of prostaglandins (PG) which is accountable for pain, swelling, inflammation and fever. The incidence of gastric ulcerogenicity of aceclofenac has been reported to be significantly lower than that of the other frequently prescribed NSAIDs, for instance, 2-fold less than naproxen, 4-fold less than

, and 7-fold less than

indomethacin Indometacin, also known as indomethacin, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly used as a prescription medication to reduce fever, pain, stiffness, and swelling from inflammation. It works by inhibiting the production of pr ...

Society and culture

Economics

Aceclofenac is available in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

as a prescription only medicine. The cost of the drug is low, around US$0.14 per 100 mg tablet (). In

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

, the cost of the drug is about US$0.61 per 100 mg tablet ().

Brand names

Aceclofenac is available in Europe, CIS countries, Asia and the Middle East. Known trades names include: Acecgen (Generics UK), Aflamin, Airtal/Biofenac ( Gedeon Richter Plc.), AklofEP (ExtractumPharma), Flemac (Aramis Pharma), Hifenac-P (Intas Pharmaceuticals, India) and Aceflam ( Julphar, UAE).

References

Citations

General and cited sources

* ''British National Formulary 55'', March 2008; , p. 537

External links

* Anilines Acetic acids Chloroarenes Carboxylate esters Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs {{analgesic-stub