New Class of Osteoporosis Drugs -- To Compete With Fosamax -- By Mid 2010?

This new drug class, Amgen-developed denosumab, is a potential eventual replacement for Merck's Fosamax. Denosumab, to be marketed under the brand name Prolia, is to be distributed by GlaxoSmithKline in Europe, upon approval. Now that the EMA has given a positive opinion on the candidate, EU approval is projected by mid-2010, per a Friday Reuters story:

. . . .Amgen's keenly awaited new drug Prolia, or denosumab, has been recommended for approval in Europe as a treatment for the brittle bone disease osteoporosis, the European Medicines Agency said on Friday. . . .

Interestingly, in the United States, Prolia^TM is a registered trademark of Cargill -- as a food ingredient -- a soy flour, precisely. So, denosumab will likely carry a different branded name here in the States.