Breakthrough in osteoporosis treatment with new drug

A new drug romosozumab (brand name: Evenity) has recently been approved in Europe to treat osteoporosis, a condition in which the bones become thin and there is an increased risk of fractures. Osteoporosis affects about one-third of all women above the age of 50. The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will review the data at an appraisal meeting in April and approval is expected for patients at high risk of osteoporotic fractures. What’s interesting is that the new drug works by increasing the formation of new bone and decreasing breakdown of existing bone. The majority of currently available treatments for osteoporosis only slow bone loss. The new agent is administered monthly by injection for a year and works by blocking a natural protein in the body called sclerostin. Early results for romosozumab safety and efficacy are encouraging. In one major trial of more than 11,000 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, those who received the drug had a nearly 75 percent lower risk of spine fracture compared to those who got a dummy drug (placebo). Trials have also shown that Evenity can reduce fracture risk in other high-risk areas such as the hip, compared to standard treatments. Interestingly, the benefits are maintained when romosozumab is replaced with standard therapy in the second year of treatment. “I am very keen to get this drug to those patients who could benefit. I believe it will likely be a significant advance over current drugs as it increases bone density in the spine and hip and probably in other parts of the body very quickly,” says Professor David Reid, a leading expert and senior medical advisor to the Royal Osteoporosis Society Born Research Academy. More than 3.5 million people in the UK are affected by osteoporosis. Evenity will likely become available to private patients in March 2020.