Ostora oral calcitonin safe and effective for Osteoporosis

The Phase III ORACAL trial evaluating Ostora tablets (calcitonin oral), from Tarsa Therapeutics, for the treatment of postmenopausal Osteoporosis, has yielded positive safety and efficacy results, according to data presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2011 Annual Meeting. The trial compared Tarsa's oral recombinant salmon calcitonin to placebo and to commercially available, synthetic salmon calcitonin administered by nasal spray. The data show that Ostora achieved all of the efficacy endpoints in the trial and indicate that the safety profile of Ostora did not substantially differ from nasal calcitonin or placebo. The majority of adverse events were mild or moderate, and Ostora was also significantly less immunogenic than nasal calcitonin spray. Calcitonin is approved for the treatment of postmenopausal Osteoporosis, but its use has been limited by the fact that it is currently available only in intranasal and injectable forms.