| Rheumatoid Arthritis

Celebrex vs Otrexup

Side-by-side clinical, coverage, and cost comparison for rheumatoid arthritis.
Deep comparison between: Celebrex vs Otrexup with Prescriber.AI
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Safety signalsOtrexup has a higher rate of injection site reactions vs Celebrex based on FDA-approved prescribing information
Coverage gaps3 major payers require step therapy for Otrexup but not Celebrex, including UnitedHealthcare
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Celebrex
Otrexup
At A Glance
Oral
Once or twice daily
COX-2 inhibitor
SC injection
Once weekly
Folate analog metabolic inhibitor
Indications
  • Degenerative polyarthritis
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
  • Ankylosing spondylitis
  • Primary dysmenorrhea
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Juvenile polyarthritis
  • Psoriasis
Dosing
Degenerative polyarthritis 200 mg once daily or 100 mg twice daily, oral.
Rheumatoid Arthritis 100 mg to 200 mg twice daily, oral.
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis 50 mg twice daily for patients 10-25 kg; 100 mg twice daily for patients >25 kg, oral.
Ankylosing spondylitis 200 mg once daily or 100 mg twice daily, oral; if no effect after 6 weeks, may trial 400 mg daily.
Primary dysmenorrhea 400 mg initially, followed by 200 mg if needed on day 1; 200 mg twice daily on subsequent days, oral.
Rheumatoid Arthritis 7.5 mg SC once weekly; adjust dose gradually; doses greater than 20 mg/week associated with significant increase in serious toxic reactions in adults.
Juvenile polyarthritis 10 mg/m2 SC once weekly; adjust dose gradually.
Psoriasis 10 to 25 mg SC once weekly; do not exceed 30 mg/week; reduce to lowest effective dose once optimal response is achieved.
Contraindications
  • Known hypersensitivity (e.g., anaphylactic reactions and serious skin reactions) to celecoxib or any components of the drug product
  • History of asthma, urticaria, or other allergic-type reactions after taking aspirin or other NSAIDs
  • Setting of CABG surgery
  • Demonstrated allergic-type reactions to sulfonamides
  • Pregnancy
  • Alcoholism, alcoholic liver disease, or other chronic liver disease
  • Overt or laboratory evidence of immunodeficiency syndromes
  • Preexisting blood dyscrasias, such as bone marrow hypoplasia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, or significant anemia
  • Known hypersensitivity to methotrexate
Adverse Reactions
Most common (>=2%) Headache, dyspepsia, upper respiratory infection, diarrhea, sinusitis, abdominal pain, nausea, back pain, peripheral edema, rhinitis, pharyngitis, rash, flatulence, dizziness, insomnia.
Serious Cardiovascular thrombotic events, GI bleeding/ulceration/perforation, hepatotoxicity, hypertension, heart failure and edema, renal toxicity and hyperkalemia, anaphylactic reactions, serious skin reactions, hematologic toxicity.
Postmarketing Vasculitis, deep venous thrombosis, angioedema, liver necrosis, hepatic failure, agranulocytosis, aplastic anemia, pancytopenia, aseptic meningitis, fatal intracranial hemorrhage, interstitial nephritis, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, DRESS, AGEP, fixed drug eruption.
Most common (>=10%) Elevated liver function tests, nausea/vomiting, ulcerative stomatitis, leukopenia, abdominal distress
Serious Bone marrow suppression, hepatotoxicity, interstitial pneumonitis, opportunistic infections, embryo-fetal toxicity, renal failure, pulmonary fibrosis
Postmarketing Toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, anaphylactoid reactions, reversible lymphoma, skin necrosis
Pharmacology
Celecoxib is a selective COX-2 inhibitor that reduces prostaglandin synthesis in peripheral tissues and the CNS, producing analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic effects; at therapeutic doses it does not inhibit platelet aggregation or prolong bleeding time.
Methotrexate inhibits dihydrofolic acid reductase, preventing reduction of dihydrofolates to tetrahydrofolates and thereby interfering with DNA synthesis, repair, and cellular replication; in RA the mechanism is unknown but may affect immune function, and in psoriasis it exploits the markedly increased rate of epithelial cell proliferation.
Enter your patient's insuranceCheck specific coverage details for your patient.
Most Common Insurance
Anthem BCBS
Celebrex
  • Covered on 5 commercial plans
  • PA (0/12) · Step Therapy (4/12) · Qty limit (11/12)
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Otrexup
  • Covered on 5 commercial plans
  • PA (10/12) · Step Therapy (10/12) · Qty limit (0/12)
View full coverage details ›
UnitedHealthcare
Celebrex
  • Covered on 4 commercial plans
  • PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (4/8)
View full coverage details ›
Otrexup
  • Covered on 4 commercial plans
  • PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (0/8)
View full coverage details ›
Humana
Celebrex
  • Covered on 0 commercial plans
  • PA (0/3) · Step Therapy (0/3) · Qty limit (1/3)
View full coverage details ›
Otrexup
  • Covered on 0 commercial plans
  • PA (1/3) · Step Therapy (1/3) · Qty limit (0/3)
View full coverage details ›
Coverage data sourced from MMIT. Updated monthly.
Savings
No savings programs available for Celebrex.
No savings programs available for Otrexup.
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CelebrexView full Celebrex profile
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Clinical data sourced from FDA-approved labeling. Coverage data via MMIT. Updated monthly.