- a transdermal patch to deliver human Parathyroid Hormone 1-34 fragment (hPTH 1-34) to treat osteoporosis just finished its first human clinical trial. Currently hPTH 1-34 is given as a injection only. This patch is being devloped by TransPharma Medical Ltd - it uses a radio frequency (RF)-micro channel technology. This system involves a handheld battery control unit, a microelectrode array and a patch with the medication. The radio frequency waves open microchannels in the skin for the drug to be delivered through.

- a generic nasal spray of calcitonin-salmon - (if I understand this right, the spray has already been approved by the FDA, but the company that makes it now has another facility approved to manufacture it. ) . At any rate, the company - Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. - will be making a generic version of the spray which has been around for a while.

- a new injectable drug for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Denosumab injections were found to be safe and effective as an oral bisphosphonate. Denosumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody and works by binding to and inhibiting the activity of RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand). RANKL is involved with the activation of bone-resorbing osteoclast cells. Denosumab is being developed by Amgen and the results of its open-label multicenter phase II study of 412 postmenopausal women was reported in the February 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine

- Reveromycin A - this one has quite a ways to go yet, but a promising discovering by Riken (a research institute in Japan) shows that reveromycin A can inhibit bone loss in mice. Reveromycin A is secondary metabolite Streptomyces sp. SN-593 which is a type of soil actinomycete. It can induce the apoptosis (cell death) of osteoclast cells. Their results will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

(Technorati Tags: osteoporosis., calcitonin, women)