Amgen and UCB announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the Biologics License Application (BLA) for romosozumab, an investigational monoclonal antibody for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at increased risk of fracture.
Romosozumab works by binding and inhibiting the activity of the protein sclerostin, a protein naturally occurring in the bone, thereby increasing bone formation and decreasing bone resorption.
"We believe romosozumab could serve as an important therapeutic option for osteoporosis patients with an increased risk of fracture," said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. "We look forward to potentially providing a new therapy to address a critical unmet medical need and further supporting patients worldwide."
"Once a patient suffers a fragility fracture, the burden of osteoporosis can have a tremendous impact on a patient's life,"1,2 said Dr. Pascale Richetta, head of bone and executive vice president, UCB. "We are pleased with the FDA's acceptance of the BLA filing for review and hope to continue the regulatory process towards U.S. approval to introduce a potential therapy to reduce the risk of fractures for this patient population."
The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of July 19, 2017, for romosozumab
