Women after menopause to get new osteoporosis treatment

More than 14,000 postmenopausal women in England could benefit from a new drug that helps to prevent bone fractures.

- Anna Bawden

Osteoporosis weakens bones and affects 3.8 million people in the UK.

It particularly affects older women because during the menopause oestrogen, the hormone important for maintaining bone density and strength, decreases. This can lead to osteoporosis, making broken bones more common.

The condition is linked to more than half a million fractures annually in the UK, at a cost of more than £4.5bn. Fractures can be very painful and limit a person's independence. They are also associated with increased mortality.

Until now, women with osteoporosis after menopause and at very high risk of fracture have been treated with romosozumab or teriparatide, followed by bisphosphonates such as alendronic acid. But some patients do not respond to, or cannot tolerate, these drugs.