New medicine for Osteoporosis in breast cancer patients.Dr. Humeira Badsha, Consultant Rheumatologist Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Amgen says denosumab met goals in late-stage study.
The AP (8/4) reports, "Biotechnology company Amgen Inc. said Monday its drug denosumab met the goals of a late-stage study in treating patients with cancer that has spread to their bones." For the trial, researchers "compared denosumab and" Novartis AG's "Zometa [zoledronic acid] in the treatment of bone metastases in 1,776 advanced cancer patients." Amgen reported that "the two drugs had similar effects in delaying the length of time until a patient's first bone injury and subsequent bone injuries."

The trial also showed that "the time to a subsequent event, the secondary endpoint, was also better than Zometa's, though not by a statistically significant amount," Dow Jones Newswires (8/4, Gryta) reports. Currently, "the US Food and Drug Administration is also reviewing denosumab as a treatment for osteoporosis and bone loss caused by hormone treatment in patients with breast and prostate cancer."

Reuters (8/4, Berkrot) reports that the trial is the second of three planned studies testing the drug in patients with cancer that has spread to their bones. According to Amgen, full details of the trial are expected to be presented at a future medical meeting.