Emerging anabolic agents in the treatment of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disease with serious consequences due to osteoporotic fractures and high costs to society for post-fracture care. Most patients at high risk for fracture are not receiving care to reduce fracture risk. The osteoporosis treatment gap has reached crisis proportions. Strategies to reduce the treatment gap include systematic methods for identifying and treating high risk patients, better education of patients and healthcare providers, better use of currently available drugs, and development of new drugs to treat osteoporosis. Areas covered: Two osteoanabolic agents with novel mechanisms of action have recently completed phase 3 clinical trials. The efficacy and safety findings of these studies are reviewed. Abaloparatide, a synthetic analog of parathyroid hormone-related protein, has received regulatory approval for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture. Romosozumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody to sclerostin, an endogenous inhibitor of bone formation, is under regulatory review. Expert opinion: Osteoanabolic therapy for osteoporosis can restore, at least in part, the degradation of bone microarchitecture that is a hallmark of this disease. The emergence of new osteoanabolic compounds expands the treatment options for patients at high risk for fracture.