Pharma Revives Osteoporosis Drug Development — SkimNews
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- Osteoporosis treatments are seeing a 'reinvigorated' wave of pharma industry interest, incentivized by a long-awaited regulatory change
- Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, and GSK each previously developed their own osteoporosis drugs, but cumbersome requirements and a series of safety concerns stifled use
- Many eligible patients for osteoporosis therapies don't take any of the drugs currently available, leaving a significant unmet treatment need
- Eli Lilly is now recruiting scientists to work on osteoporosis therapies, according to Bloomberg, with other pharmaceutical companies rumored to be following suit
- Venture capitalists have taken notice and are now making bone health one of their funding priorities
Why it matters: The gap between osteoporosis eligibility and actual treatment — with most eligible patients going untreated — represents both an unmet public health need and a reopening market opportunity. Eli Lilly's active scientist recruitment and concurrent VC prioritization of bone health signal the space is becoming competitive again after years of safety-driven retreat by the major drugmakers.
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