'Last resort' osteoporosis drug that is '17 times better than standard treatment' | Mail Online

Third time lucky: Patients have to endure two other failed treatments before being allowed Protelos

A drug considered a last resort in the fight against osteoporosis is 17 times more effective than the standard initial treatment, an international study has found.

Protelos is radically different from other therapies because it promotes the growth of fresh bone rather than just preventing deterioration.

But under NHS guidelines it is a 'third-line' treatment, meaning patients with bone thinning or a fracture are not allowed it until two other approaches have been tried.

In most cases, symptoms also have to worsen before they qualify.

The new research compared the effectiveness of Protelos with the 'standard'– but much cheaper– first-line treatment alendronate, from a class of drugs known as bisphosphonates.

Doctors found that samples from women taking Protelos for six months contained almost 14 times more new bone than those on alendronate– around 3 per cent compared with 0.2 per cent.

Following a year of treatment with Protelos, also known as strontium ranelate, the bone growth was 17 times greater.

Samples from 268 post-menopausal women with osteoporosis in several countries were analysed for the study, led by doctors at Hopital Edouard Herriot, Lyon.

Their results were presented at the European Congress on Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis in Valencia, Spain.

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