Lies! I spoke to the Novartis rep yesterday, actually Deramaxx comes to be cheaper (the bigger the dog, the bigger the difference) than Metacam, and is active in the system after 1.5 hours, rather than 2.5 to 7 hours (but that's their data). And indeed, less gastric side effects - apparently it's not a problem to give Deramaxx to a dog without a meal.
My sister's dog was on Sasha's blend for the longest time, she liked it and tought it made a difference.