Osteologix, Inc., announced that patient enrollment has been completed in its Phase I clinical trial of NBS-101, an improved formulation of strontium for the treatment of osteoporosis. The trial, underway at Hvidovre Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, is designed to establish safety as well as the dose required to deliver the same blood levels of strontium as strontium ranelate (Protelos, Servier), a dual-acting antiosteoporosis medication recently launched in Europe.

According to the San Francisco-based company, preclinical studies suggest that a substantially lower dose of NBS-101 may deliver the same amount of strontium as the 2 g dose of Protelos strontium ranelate. There are currently no US Food and Drug Administration-approved osteoporosis therapies that both increase bone formation and decrease bone resorption. Strontium ranelate promotes bone formation by stimulating osteoblasts and reduces bone resorption by decreasing osteoclasts, rebalancing bone turnover by helping new and stronger bone to form and providing early and sustained antifracture efficacy. These actions are reflected clinically by an increase in bone density and a significant reduction in the incidence of new vertebral and hip fractures in women with a history of osteoporotic fracture. -- Nicholas K. Zittell