Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent, chronic disease affecting the joints. Stiffness and pain associated with this condition contributes to patients' inability to perform normal activities on a daily basis. Lumiracoxib [Prexige] is a selective and highly potent inhibitor of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 in development by Novartis for the treatment of OA, acute pain and rheumatoid arthritis. At the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) [Berlin, Germany; June2004], a multinational investigative team presented the results of its multicentre, randomised trial in patients with primary OA, and revealed that lumiracoxib brought about"clinically relevant improvements in the patient's condition".1The results of a second randomised trial presented at the meeting showed that all aspects of QOL improved significantly following treatment with lumiracoxib, compared with placebo.2