Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that a drug's effect on reduction of new hip fractures is the attribute that most influences U.S. and European surveyed primary care physicians' (PCPs') prescribing decisions in osteoporosis. Clinical data and the opinions of interviewed thought leaders indicate Eli Lilly's Forteo (in Europe the brand name is Forsteo) has advantages over patient-share leader alendronate (Merck's Fosamax, Teijin's Bonalon, generics) on this attribute.
The new report entitled Osteoporosis: Prolia Fails to Meet Physicians' Expectations but Retains Blockbuster Potential also finds that Forteo will remain Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard through 2018 for the treatment of osteoporosis. While some drugs in development hold promise, such as Amgen/GlaxoSmithKline's Prolia, most have less favorable efficacy, safety and tolerability attributes compared with Forteo.
"Amgen/GlaxoSmithKline's first-in-class biologic Prolia has not demonstrated sufficient efficacy to surmount Forteo as our clinical gold standard. Physicians continue to seek improved fracture prevention and although Prolia's twice yearly injections offer greater convenience than Forteo, which requires daily injections, Prolia doesn't demonstrate superiority in efficacy," stated Decision Resources Analyst Matthew Scutcher, Ph.D. "Although Prolia will still achieve blockbuster status in the osteoporosis drug market, its uptake will be limited by competition from Forteo and other currently marketed therapies."
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