Novartis drug cuts hip-fracture deaths

Big kudos to the Novartis osteoporosis drug Reclast: A New England Journal of Medicine study showed that patients with broken hips were more likely to survive if they were given a yearly dose of the drug. Twenty-eight percent fewer patients died, and Reclast reduced subsequent fractures by 35 percent, too.

Every year, some 300,000 patients 65 and older break their hips and, according to Boston Globe-sponsored research, 29 percent of them die within 12 months. In an editorial accompanying the new NEJM study, an NIH official called the reduction in death and fractures "striking" and said the study proved the need for "pharmacologic intervention" after hip fractures.

Sponsored by Novartis and headed by a researcher who has applied for two Reclast-related patents, the study data was independently reviewed by statisticians at the University of California.

- check out this press releaseï¾ from Novartis
- read thisï¾ article from the Boston Globe

Related Articles:
Novartis' Reclast gets FDA blessing. Report
Novartis options osteoporosis drug. Report
Cash-rich Novartis CEO mulls biotech buyouts. Report
Novartis touts pipeline. Report