Esomeprazole for prevention of upper gastrointestinal symptoms associated with continuous use of NSAIDs

Inclusion Criteria

• - Signed informed consent.
• - Completed the SH-NEN-0001 study with relief of upper GI symptom. Relief is defined as “last 7 days with a diary assessment of None or Minimal, but allowing up to 2 days to be rated as Mild during the 7-day period”.
• - A clinical diagnosis of a chronic condition (e.g., osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis) that requires continuous daily NSAID treatment for at least 6 months. Daily NSAID treatment is defined as taking the prescribed dose for at least 5 of 7 days in any given week and can include COX-2 selective NSAIDs, multiple NSAIDs, and high-dose NSAIDs.
• - Daily NSAID treatment dose and type: (Must have been stable for at least 9 weeks prior to inclusion
• and; Are expected to remain stable for the duration of the study.
• and; Must be administered orally. If more than one type of NSAID treatment is used, at least one type must be administered orally).
• - Hp negative on Histology performed at baseline endoscopy in the study SHNEN- 0001.