Osteoporosis Drug Could Change Treatment for Brittle Bones

Worldwide, it's estimated that as many as 8.9 million individuals are annually diagnosed with osteoporosis. That's one person every three seconds, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

Though there are treatment options and preventative measures to take in order to prevent this health problem from occurring, studies show that many treatments may not be effective in the long term-making fractures, bone loss and other symptoms of osteoporosis unpreventable in the long term.

However, a new drug for the health issue may carry the ability to rebuild bones and potentially strengthen the skeleton. 

"Most osteoporosis drugs work by stopping the progression of bone loss, but they don't have the capability of rebuilding the skeleton," Dr. Michael McClung, founding director of the Oregon Osteoporosis Center in Portland, Ore., said, via WeMd. "This really is a new day in the consideration of how we treat osteoporosis, with the capability of truly stimulating bone production and rebuilding the skeleton, not simply keeping it from getting worse."

This experimental drug, known as romosozumab, helps the body's ability to stimulate bone production through the blocking of biochemical signals that naturally inhibit bone formation, he explains, via the health organization.

The company Amgen unveiled results involving the therapy Saturday. The product-an injectable drug, recently entered its Phase III trial, with positive data from a Phase-II trial among postmenopausal women with low bone density (BMD). Findings after a year of the treatment showed a greater increase in spinal BMD with romosozumab by 11.3 percent than with Forteo (7.1 percent) or Merck's Fosamax (4.1 percent), according to Reuters.

Amgen notes that Forteo and Forsamax were used as comparators in an "exploratory analysis."

The new drug works to harness an antibody in order to block the function of sclerostin-a protein that the body uses to produce naturally to inhibit bone growth. Without sclerostin, overactive bone growth works to clamp off the nerves that end up fusing the spinal column.

However, researchers note that more research is needed in order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment and for the approval of the product.

More information regarding the drug's trial results can be found via the New England Journal of Medicine.