Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced that its experimental drug denosumab demonstrated that it can prevent bone loss in men that are being treated with prostate cancer drugs which can cause osteoporosis.
Results, based on a three-year Phase III study of over 1,400 men, found that denosumab increased bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and non-vertebral sites than a placebo. All men in the study had non-metastatic prostate cancer and were undergoing androgen deprivation therapy.
Amgen also stated that during the 36 months of the trial the men who received denosumab had have the incidence of new vertebral fractures than those receiving a placebo.
"This pivotal study in men with prostate cancer demonstrated once again that denosumab increases BMD consistently at all sites measured. We are also excited by the reduction in vertebral fractures, which permits the conclusion that the increased BMD seen in patients receiving denosumab is associated with improved bone strength," said Roger Perlmutter, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. "We are encouraged by the potential benefit this may represent to prostate cancer patients undergoing ADT for whom bone loss and fractures are serious and under-recognized complications of cancer treatment."
[Source: Amgen]
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