Amgen reveals results of denosumab study

Amgen has highlighted the results of a new study involving its first fully-human monoclonal antibody in late stage clinical development, denosumab.

According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, patients receiving twice-yearly doses of denosumab experienced significant increases in bone mineral density when compared to placebo treatments.

Overall, the study showed a 68 per cent reduction in the risk of sustaining vertebral fractures in patients to whom the treatment was administered twice a year. It also demonstrated a 40 per cent reduction in risk for a hip fracture in females with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Steven Cummings, lead investigator and author of the paper, commented: “These results suggest that denosumab offers a new approach to prevention of fractures in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.”

This news comes after Amgen recently announced positive top-line results from a phase III trial into denosumab compared to Zometa (zoledronic acid).