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Once Weekly Preferred Over Once Daily Alendronate Regimen: Presented at Eular

By Alison Palkhivala
Special to DG News

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN -- June 21, 2002 -- Postmenopausal women overwhelmingly prefer a once weekly dosing regimen of Fosamax® (alendronate) over a once daily routine. The results of this study were presented here this week at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR).

Dr. L. Kendler from the department of endocrinology at St. Vincent's Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, led a team of researchers who recruited 405 postmenopausal women from 45 study sites in Europe, the Americas, and the Asian Pacific Region. These patients were randomly assigned to treatment with alendronate 70 mg once weekly followed by alendronate 10 mg daily or alendronate 10 mg daily followed by alendronate 70 mg once weekly in an open-label design. Each treatment was given for four weeks using standard AM dosing. After patients had experienced both treatment regimens, they completed a questionnaire assessing their preference and willingness to take the regimens long-term.

Overall, 92 percent of patients preferred a specific dosing regimen, and 84 percent of these patients said they preferred the once weekly regimen. 87 percent of patients reported that the weekly regimen is more convenient, and 84 percent indicated that they would pick the weekly regimen as the one they would prefer to take over the long term.

The authors conclude that a vast majority of patients prefer a once weekly dosing of alendronate treatment over a once daily regimen. This is a protocol patients find convenient, and most are willing to take it long term.

This study was conducted in conjunction with Merck & Co., Inc., Brussels, Belgium makers of Fosamax®.

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