Roche and GlaxoSmithKline get bone strengthening injection approved

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an injected treatment for sufferers of osteoporosis.

Boniva, marketed by both GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Roche, is the first bisphosphonate drug which can be administered quarterly to people with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Clinical trails showed that it reduced new fractures and increased bone density.

The drug was already approved in its oral form, but GSK and Roche hope that the 15-30 second injected version will be adopted by individuals who had trouble meeting dosage requirements which include sitting upright for 30 to 60 minutes. Trials of the injected version also showed higher increases in bone mineral density than the oral version.

Robert R Recker, a Boniva trial investigator, said that the drug “represents an important new opportunity to bring the bone-strengthening benefits of Boniva to more women – including those who have difficulty with dosing requirements of oral bisphosphonates.”

Judith Cranford, executive director of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, added: “Osteoporosis is a serious, widespread and growing public health threat. We welcome any new treatment options such as Boniva injection that will help patients address this all too prevalent disease.”

Osteoporosis affects ten million individuals in the US, eight million of whom are women.

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