Antisclerostin osteoporosis drugs might worsen or unmask rheumatoid arthritis

A phase II trial of blosozumab in 120 postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density (mean lumbar spine T-score –2.8) showed that the drug increased BMD in the lumbar spine by 17.7% above baseline at 52 weeks, femoral neck by 8.4%, and total hip by 6.2%, compared with decreases of 1.6%, 0.6%, and 0.7%, respectively, with placebo (J Bone Miner Res. 2015 Feb;30[2]:216-24). However, mild injection-site reactions were reported by up to 40% of women taking blosozumab, and 35% developed antidrug antibodies after exposure to blosozumab. Eli Lilly, its developer, is looking at possible ways to reformulate the drug before it moves to phase III.

The study in Science Translational Medicine was supported by the German Research Foundation. The authors had no competing interests to disclose.

jevans@frontlinemedcom.com