Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (CINCINNATI, Ohio) and sanofi-aventis US (BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey), through The Alliance for Better Bone Health, announced that the US FDA has approved a new once-a-month dose (150 mg) of Actonel^® (risedronate sodium) tablets for the treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Actonel is approved to reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

The FDA approval of the once-a-month dose is based on a study comparing Actonel 150 mg once monthly to Actonel 5 mg daily. Similar increases in bone mineral density were seen among patients taking either once-a-month or daily dosing regimens.

Over fifty-five million prescriptions of Actonel have been filled in the US alone since its approval for osteoporosis in 2000.

The Alliance for Better Bone Health, a collaboration between P&G and sanofi-aventis, was formed in May 1997 to promote bone health and disease awareness through numerous activities to support physicians and patients around the globe.