Impact on the bowel of amtolmetin guacyl, a new gastroprotective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

Amtolmetin guacyl (MED15) is a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which shares anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity with the other drugs of the NSAID family but which shows, unexpectedly, strong gastroprotective activity similar to misoprostol. This effect has been attributed to the presence in its molecule of a vanillic moiety responsible for stimulation of capsaicin receptors present throughout the length of the gastrointestinal tract. MED15 shows antispasmodic activity in the bowel against a number of agonists and compares favourably with reference compounds.