MSD’s delayed experimental osteoporosis drug passes trial

MSD has announced it intends to seek US approval for its experimental osteoporosis drug odanacatib next year, after the treatment proved effective in a late-stage trial.

According to the company, the once-weekly pill significantly reduced the risk of fractures to the hip and spine, and non-vertebral fractures, when compared to a placebo.

The Long-Term Odanacatib Fracture Trial (LOFT) comprised just under 17,000 women, all of whom were aged 65 years or older and had been diagnosed with the bone-thinning ailment traditionally associated with postmenopausal females.

During the trial, patients who received the treatment experienced a 54 percent risk reduction in new and worsening morphometric vertebral fractures, while the chances of developing clinical hip or clinical vertebral fractures was down by 47 percent and 72 percent respectively.

Furthermore, odanacatib was found to result in progressive increases in bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and total hip over a five-year period. 

Michael McClung, leader of the LOFT trial and founding director of the Oregon Osteoporosis Center, said: "Despite the important and serious consequences of fractures related to osteoporosis and our ability to identify patients who would benefit from therapy, many patients with osteoporosis are not being treated. There is a need for additional treatment options."