New study shows that osteoporosis patients treated with Actonel are more likely to sustain when compared to alendronate. These results were published today in the peer-reviewed journal Osteoporosis International after collecting data from 33,000 women with osteoporosis.

The study of 33,000 postmenopausal women showed that among patients newly prescribed one of the two most popular osteoporosis treatments, patients taking Actonel® (risedronate sodium) were approximately half as likely to sustain a hip fracture as those taking alendronate in the first year of treatment. 'The rapid onset of fracture reduction observed for risedronate in this study is consistent with results from randomised clinical trials of risedronate,' says Professor Pierre Delmas, study author, Universite Claude Bernard, Lyon.

'Earlier fracture protection means that fewer patients will suffer the devastating consequences of an osteoporotic fracture, helping to both preserve patients' quality of life and to reduce the economic burden of healthcare.'

The REAL (RisedronatE, ALendronate) retrospective cohort study included 33,830 women newly treated with once-weekly doses of either Actonel or alendronate in 'real-life' clinical practice. Results showed that at six months patients on Actonel had a 46% (p=0.02) lower incidence of hip fractures compared to patients on alendronate. At 12 months similar results were seen, with Actonel resulting in a 43% (p=0.01) greater reduction in risk of hip fracture versus alendronate. The two treatments were not compared on the basis of side effects in this study.

This study adds to the body of evidence from randomised controlled trials demonstrating that Actonel exerts an early onset of fracture protection, seen as early as six months for clinical vertebral fracture and nonvertebral fractures. No other bisphosphonate treatments for osteoporosis have been shown in clinical trials to reduce clinical fractures this early for patients. However, data are limited that compare therapies directly in the same study on the basis of fracture reduction - the clinically important endpoint in osteoporosis treatment.

'In the osteoporosis field it is unlikely that prospective, head-to-head clinical fracture trials will be conducted due to the large number of patients required to show a difference between two effective therapies,' said Professor Delmas. 'Large, comparative, retrospective analyses, like the REAL study, are one way to fill the knowledge gap and should be considered in the total body of evidence for a drug to optimise treatment decisions and enhance patient care.'

Currently 1.6 million hip fractures occur worldwide per year, accounting for approximately €104 billion in worldwide annual healthcare costs. Among those patients who suffer a hip fracture, approximately one in five will die within the following year and 40% will be unable to walk independently one year later.