Expert criticises availability of osteoporosis drugs

An expert from the University of Aberdeen has criticised the drug approval system in England and Wales, claiming that thousands of patients with the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis do not get the treatment they need.

Speaking at the British Science Festival in Guildford (September 5th to 10th), Professor David Reid explained that many patients do not tolerate alendronate, the standard treatment for osteoporosis.

The oral bisphosphonate medicine, which costs less than £50 per patient per year, causes unbearable side-effects in around five per cent of users, including indigestion, stomach pains and, in rare cases, damage to the jaw bone.

There are alternative treatments for osteoporosis; however, these are more expensive and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) - which issues guidance for the NHS on prescribing treatments - does not believe they are cost-effective in most cases.

Because of this, Professor Reid said that many patients in England and Wales do not receive the treatment they need to slow down the progression of their osteoporosis and prevent life-threatening fractures.

"If you don't tolerate this drug (alendronate) and go back to your GP, the GP may well have to say your risk isn't high enough and you can't have the next drug," the professor said.

"Frankly, that's just bad medical practice. You don't say to a patient 'I have something I could give you but you can't have it'. That's unnecessarily restrictive. It defies logic."

Also speaking at the festival was Dr Neil Gittoes from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Dr Gittoes said that there should be a greater emphasis on increasing awareness and taking steps to prevent osteoporosis, pointing out that the current emphasis is on "picking up the pieces at a later stage".

A spokesman for the Arthritis Research Campaign concurred that awareness of the disease, including risk factors, was low among both clinicians and patients, whilst excessively complex treatment guidelines from NICE have not helped the situation.

© Adfero Ltd

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