WASHINGTON -- A new anti-smoking drug improves the odds of success threefold for people who want to quit, an independent research group reported Tuesday.
The drug, called Chantix by its maker, Pfizer Inc., outperformed the antidepressants that helped some quitters in clinical trials that the British-based Cochrane Collaborative reviewed.
In the trials, the antidepressants outperformed the placebos used to measure Chantix's effectiveness by 2 to 1, while Chantix showed a 3-to-1 advantage over the control group.
A third drug-based approach -- nicotine replacement therapy -- at best only doubled the odds of quitting successfully, according to a 2004 review by Cochrane.
Cochrane's panels of volunteer physicians and health researchers appraise the quality of all known studies and the findings of the most solid ones. Health professionals and insurers study Cochrane's evaluations, published online as the Cochrane Library and available by subscription, for the efficiency they add to health-care spending.
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Cochrane's findings on Chantix reinforce the Food and Drug Administration's decision last May to approve the drug on an expedited basis "because of its significant potential benefit to public health." The findings also bolster the reputability of Chantix's six clinical trials, all sponsored by Pfizer.
While Cochrane's reviewers deem those findings solid, they call for more independent research on the grounds that industry-funded trials "are more likely to have outcomes favorable to the product sponsor." None of the panelists reported receiving support of any kind from Pfizer.
Chantix costs $100 to $140 a month, and insurance generally doesn't cover it. The Cochrane report notes that there's no clinical evidence of how likely Chantix users are to relapse or how well the drug will work for those who do.
