COX–2 inhibitor

:  any of a class of drugs (as celecoxib) that are NSAIDs which selectively block the isoform COX-2 but not the isoform COX-1 of cyclooxygenase and are used chiefly to relieve the pain and inflammation of arthritis while minimizing gastrointestinal side effects COX-2 inhibitors, as their name implies, were designed to block just the inflammatory functions of the COX-2 enzyme, leaving the stomach-protecting functions of the COX-1 form intact.—Alice Park, Time, 28 Feb. 2005