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A once-a-week
dosage of the drug Actonel (risedronate sodium tablets) has
been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for
the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
A 5 mg
version of Actonel was approved by the FDA in April 2000.
Aventis'
once-weekly dosage of Actonel joins Merck's weekly osteoporosis
treatment, Fosamax.
Actonel
and Fosamax are nonhormonal bisphosphonate drugs that stop
cells from breaking down bone.
"Patients
and doctors always welcome effective new treatment choices,
and we now have data that show once-a-week dosing of Actonel
is therapeutically equivalent to daily 5 mg dosing,"
said Dr. Robert Lindsay, Chief of Internal Medicine at Helen
Hayes Hospital in New York and lead investigator of the Actonel
once-a-week approval study.
The 35 mg tablet will be available in pharmacies by prescription
in mid-June 2002.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of June 2, 2002
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