Teriparatide fracture effectiveness in the real world

Hip and other fragility fracture incidence in real-world teriparatide-treated patients in the United States

This study demonstrates real-world effectiveness of teriparatide in reducing the risk of hip and other fragility fractures. Fracture incidence significantly decreased as adherence and persistence increased for any clinical, vertebral, nonvertebral, and hip fractures among patients who were observed for 2 years after teriparatide initiation.

INTRODUCTION

Examine the relationship of treatment adherence and persistence to teriparatide with hip and other fractures.

METHODS

Truven MarketScan Research Databases, 2004 through 2014, provided teriparatide users ≥18 years old with continuous coverage 12 months pre- and 24 months post-teriparatide prescription. Adherence (medication possession ratio, MPR) groups were defined as high (≥0.80), medium (0.50 ≤ MPR < 0.80), and low (<0.50). Persistence, allowing for ≤90-day gaps between prescriptions, was defined as 1-6, 7-12, 13-18, and 19-24 months. Fracture incidence was summarized and compared by using ANOVA and logistic regression models; the effects of adherence were examined with Cox proportional hazard models with time-dependent covariates for teriparatide exposure.

RESULTS

Among 14,284 teriparatide subjects, mean age was 68.4 years, 89.8% were female, and 29.6% had a fracture in the previous year; these characteristics were similar across MPR and persistence groups. The effects of adherence and persistence to teriparatide were statistically significant (P < .001) for all fracture types except wrist (P ≥ .125). By logistic regression, high vs low adherence was associated with reduced risk for any (OR = 0.67; P < .001); vertebral (OR = 0.64; P < .001); nonvertebral (OR = 0.71; P < .001); and hip fractures (OR = 0.52; P < .001) and longer (19-24 months) vs shorter persistence (1-6 months) was associated with reduced risk for any (OR = 0.63, P < .001); vertebral (OR = 0.56, P < .001); nonvertebral (OR = 0.69, P < .001); and hip fractures (OR = 0.48, P < .001). Cox models revealed a significantly reduced risk between high and low adherence for any (OR = 0.69, P < .001); vertebral (OR = 0.60, P < .001); nonvertebral (OR = 0.77, P < .001); and hip fractures (OR = 0.55, P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Fracture incidence significantly decreased as persistence and adherence to teriparatide increased.

Fracture Rate, Quality of Life and Back Pain in Patients with Osteoporosis Treated with Teriparatide: 24-Month Results from the Extended Forsteo Observational Study (ExFOS)

We describe the pre-planned interim analysis of fracture outcomes, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and back pain in patients with severe osteoporosis treated with teriparatide for up to 24 months in the Extended Forsteo (Forsteo(®) is a registered trade name of Eli Lilly and Company) Observational Study (ExFOS), a prospective, multinational, observational study. Data on incident clinical fractures, HRQoL (EQ-5D questionnaire) and back pain [100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS)] were collected. The number of patients with fractures was summarised in 6-month intervals and fracture rate over each 6-month period was assessed using logistic regression for repeated measures. Changes from baseline in EQ-5D and back pain VAS were analysed using mixed models for repeated measures. Of 1454 patients in the active treatment cohort, 90.6 % were female and 14.4 % were taking glucocorticoids. During teriparatide treatment (median duration 23.7 months), 103 patients (7.1 %) sustained a total of 122 incident clinical fractures (21 % vertebral, 79 % non-vertebral). A 49 % decrease in the odds of fractures and a 75 % decrease in the odds of clinical vertebral fractures were observed in the >18- to 24-month period versus the first 6-month period (both p < 0.05). EQ-5D scores and back pain VAS scores were significantly improved from baseline at each post-baseline observation during teriparatide treatment. In conclusion, patients with severe osteoporosis showed a significant reduction in the incident fracture rate during 24 months of teriparatide treatment in routine clinical practice, accompanied by a significant improvement in HRQoL and reduction in back pain. Results should be interpreted in the context of the non-controlled design of this observational study.

Teriparatide for osteoporosis: importance of the full course

Teriparatide (TPTD) is the only currently available therapeutic agent that increases the formation of new bone tissue and can provide some remediation of the architectural defects in the osteoporotic skeleton. The use of teriparatide clinically is limited to 24 months. We review clinical findings during daily teriparatide treatment over time. Teriparatide appears to increase bone formation more than bone resorption as determined biochemically and histologically. Teriparatide exerts its positive effects on bone formation in two distinct fashions. The first is direct stimulation of bone formation that occurs within active remodeling sites (remodeling-based bone formation) and on surfaces of bone previously inactive (modeling-based bone formation). The second is an increase in the initiation of new remodeling sites. Both processes contribute to the final increase in bone density observed by non-invasive tools such as DXA. Remodeling is the repair process by which skeletal tissue is maintained in a young healthy state, and when stimulated by TPTD is associated with a positive bone balance within each remodeling cavity. It seems likely therefore that this component will contribute to the anti-fracture efficacy of TPTD. Teriparatide reduces the risk of fracture, and this effect appears to increase with longer duration of therapy. The use of novel treatment regimens, including shorter courses, should be held in abeyance until controlled clinical trials are completed to define the relative fracture benefits of such approaches in comparison to the 24-month daily use of the agent. Summary In patients with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, the full continuous 24-month course with teriparatide results in improved skeletal health and outcomes than shorter time periods.