Is there a difference between Arava and competitor methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis?
The FDA noted upon approval that Arava worked no better than methotrexate but it provided more options to patients. Sidney Wolfe, of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, compared the two arthritis drugs and found there have been six times more FDA reports of liver damage with Arava patients versus methotrexate patients. There have also been more FDA records of lymphoma, high blood pressure, and a life-threatening autoimmune disorder Stevens-Johnson syndrome in Arava patients than methotrexate patients. Despite numbers showing there have been 6.8 million more prescriptions filled for methotrexate than Arava, the number of adverse effects remains higher in lenflunomide users. Public Citizen has found the death rate is 33 times higher in Arava users.
