Osteoporosis Drug Found Safe in Long-Term Trial

By Sondra Forsyth

A study published in April 2017 in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research provides reassuring information about the short-term and long-term safety of denosumab, a monoclonal antibody that is used to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis.

A release from the publisher explains that the study showed that adverse events that had been noted in a pivotal clinical trial in women age 60 to 90 years old treated for three years showed no tendency to increase after a further three years of treatment

In addition, women who crossed over from three years of placebo to three years of denosumab experienced no increase in adverse effects compared with women treated for the initial three years.

The release quotes lead author Dr. Nelson Watts as saying, “All of this is consistent with an excellent safety and tolerability profile for denosumab treatment for osteoporosis.” The authors pointed out that especially in older women on long-term treatment, many if not all adverse events could be called “life events”–things that would have happened whether or not the person was participating in a clinical trial.