Friday, December 3, 2010

Prolia(TM) (denosumab) Receives Best New Drug Honor at Scrip Awards

Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) is pleased to announce that it has won the Best New Drug awardfor Prolia(TM) (denosumab), a novel treatment approved in the United States (U.S.) for women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, at the2010 Scrip Awards ceremony Nov. 4 in London. Named one of TIME's Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2009, Prolia is the first treatment specifically designed to target osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone.

In addition to its novel mechanism of action, the Scrip judges highlighted Prolia's efficacy in reducing fractures and dosing regimen. Prolia, the first and only RANK Ligand inhibitor approved in the U.S. and the European Union (EU), is an every six month subcutaneous injection.

"We are honored to be recognized again by our industry peers with the Best New Drug award," said Roger M. Perlmutter, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. "Only last year we were recognized by Scrip for our robust pipeline, which at the time included Prolia. This medicine is the result of more than a decade of work, beginning with Amgen's discovery of a pathway that regulates bone metabolism and culminating in this important new treatment option for patients with bone disease."

Osteoporosis is a serious, chronic disease that affects 30 percent of postmenopausal women in the EU.(1) In the U.S., one in two women over the age of 50 with postmenopausal osteoporosis will experience a fracture in her remaining lifetime.(2) Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who have experienced a fracture are at increased risk for another fracture.(2,4,5)

The annual Scrip Awards are independently judged by a panel of senior industry experts and are given to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies for their contribution to the improvement of healthcare. For more information, visit the Scrip website http://www.scripintelligence.com/awards/

About Prolia (denosumab)
Prolia is approved for use in the U.S., the EU, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. In the U.S., Prolia is approved for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, defined as a history of osteoporotic fracture, or multiple risk factors for fracture; or patients who have failed or are intolerant to other available osteoporosis therapy. In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, Prolia reduces the incidence of vertebral, non-vertebral and hip fractures. The U.S. prescribing information indicates Prolia should be administered by a healthcare professional.

The pivotal three-year Phase 3 Fracture REduction Evaluation of Denosumab in Osteoporosis every six Months (FREEDOM) study in 7,808 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis demonstrated that Prolia, administered as a 60mg subcutaneous injection every six months, compared with placebo at three years resulted in:(6)

* A 68 percent reduction in vertebral fractures (4.8 percent absolute risk reduction). The incidence of new spine fractures was 2.3 percent with Prolia vs. 7.2 percent with placebo; A 40 percent reduction in hip fractures (0.3 percent absolute risk reduction). The incidence of hip fractures was 0.7 percent with Prolia vs. 1.2 percent with placebo;
* A 20 percent reduction in non-vertebral fractures (1.5 percent absolute risk reduction). The incidence of non-spine fractures was 6.5 percent with Prolia vs. 8 percent with placebo;
* Significant bone density increases at all key sites measured (8.8 percent at the lumbar spine, 6.4 percent at the total hip, and 5.2 percent at the femoral neck).

In the EU, Prolia is approved for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at increased risk of fractures, and for the treatment of bone loss associated with hormone ablation in men with prostate cancer at increased risk of fractures. Prolia is also the first and only product approved in the EU for the treatment of bone loss associated with hormone ablation in men with prostate cancer at increased risk of fractures.

Prolia is administered as a single subcutaneous injection of 60mg once every six months. For further information on Prolia, please visit: www.prolia.com

About Denosumab Collaborations
In July 2009, Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced a collaboration agreement to jointly commercialize Prolia for postmenopausal osteoporosis in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico once the product is approved in these countries. Amgen will commercialize Prolia's postmenopausal osteoporosis and potential oncology indications in the U.S. and Canada and for all oncology indications in Europe and in other specified markets.

In addition, GlaxoSmithKline will register and commercialize denosumab for all indications in countries where Amgen does not currently have a commercial presence, including China, Brazil, India and South Korea but excluding Japan. The structure of the collaboration allows Amgen the option of an expanded role in commercialization in both Europe and certain emerging markets in the future.

Amgen and Daiichi-Sankyo Company Limited have a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of denosumab in Japan.

About Amgen
Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative human therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to realize the new science's promise by bringing safe and effective medicines from lab, to manufacturing plant, to patient. Amgen therapeutics have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of people around the world in the fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses. With a deep and broad pipeline of potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing science to dramatically improve people's lives. To learn more about our pioneering science and our vital medicines, visit www.amgen.com

Original Post:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts