Emerging drugs in development for Osteoporosis
The February 2011 issue of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery has an interesting review by Kawai, Mödder and colleagues on “Emerging therapeutic opportunities for skeletal restoration.”
Some of the new products they discuss include:
- Parathyroid Hormone-Related protein (PTHRP)
- Cathepsin K Inhibitors: odanacatib
- Wnt-ß-catenin pathway targets: sclerostin, DKK1 antagonists, lithium.
The market opportunity for osteoporosis remains significant, affecting 44 million people in the United States over the age of 50, resulting in healthcare costs in excess of $15 billion a year; numbers that are set to increase with the ageing population of baby boomers. The low bone mineral density (BMD) associated with osteoporosis results in increased risk of hip fracture, from which the mortality rate is 20-30% in the first year.
