I just ran a Google search on the two terms, and while Celebrex returned 11,300,000 results, Euflexxa came back with just 14,800. That’s a shame.

More than 10 million Americans have osteoarthritis of the knee; it’s one of the most common forms of arthritis. Until recently, the most patients could hope for was to manage the pain and inflammation with drugs ranging from (on the mild end) acetaminophen up to (on the severe end) Celebrex. With Celebrex, of course, patients also had to weigh the benefits vs. the well-publicized risks.

In December 2004, the FDA approved Euflexxa as a new treatment for knee osteoarthritis. Produced by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Euflexxa is a hyaluronic acid (HA) derivative that is injected into the knee; it works by increasing the ability of the fluid within the joint to act as a lubricant and shock absorber. HA is a natural substance found in healthy knee joints. Studies consistently have shown the treatment’s effectiveness.

Obviously, every patient responds to medications and treatments differently. But if you have knee pain and have only seen a general practitioner rather than a specialist, it’s possible he or she may not even be aware of Euflexxa. So do yourself a favor and investigate it.

With the slo-mo and totally weird vibe of the ad, I’ve been thinking of pulling the ad into my video editing software and laying on a new soundtrack that would be more appropriate to the visuals. Here are my candidates:

1. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
2. Comfortably Numb
3. Stairway to Heaven
4. Hotel California
5. Bohemian Rhapsody (the length is about the same…)
6. Don’t Worry Be Happy (should be the theme song for all DTC ads)

I’m leaning toward Lucy at this point — if I ever get around to doing it. In the meantime, here’s a version of the Celebrex ad with a more ominous vibe.

Given the option of living with pain or an increased heart attack risk, some Baby Boomers are assuming the risk and going back to a drug still considered potentially dangerous by the government. Two years after Vioxx and other powerful arthritis pain fighters were linked to cardiovascular trouble, there is a big comeback under way for those types of drugs known as Cox-2 inhibitors.

One of them, Pfizer Inc.’s Celebrex, saw its sales jump 18 percent last year, even though it must now be sold with a “black box” label warning of the risk to the heart.

Now Merck & Co., which pulled Vioxx from the market in 2004 and is fighting billions of dollars in court damage claims, is trying again with another Cox-2 drug. It is seeking U.S. approval to introduce Arcoxia, while the Swiss drug giant Novartis AG is doing a large clinical safety trial of its own Cox-2, Prexige. Later this year, Novartis will ask U.S. regulators for permission to market it.

There is no doubt that seniors are in desperate need of pain relief, but hopefully this time Merck and the FDA will exercise more caution than they did with Vioxx.