The osteoporosis drug Prolia (denosumab) produced positive results in a Phase 2 study extension, Reuters reports.
Results of the study showed that for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis [low bone mass] who received up to eight years of continued treatment with Prolia, bone mineral density increased on average 16.8 percent at the lumbar spine and 6.9 percent in the total hip, Amgen Inc., the drugs maker, told Reuters.
"We don't yet have a cure for osteoporosis, and many postmenopausal women with this condition who are at high risk for fractures require long-term therapy for this serious disease," lead author Michael McClung, M.D., founding director, Oregon Osteoporosis Center, said in a news release. "This study provides additional data that Prolia continues to increase bone mineral density progressively over a treatment period of eight years. This study supports the long-term clinical experience of Prolia for women with this chronic condition."
Prolia is the first approved drug that specifically targets an essential regulator of osteoclasts, the cells that break down the cells that break down bone.
