Results of the clinical study carried out by Professor Ian Reed
Results of the clinical study carried out by Professor Ian Reed and his team from the University of Auckland in New Zealand has found that the drug Zometa manufactured by Novartis treats Paget’s disease far better than the drug Actonel produced by Procter and Gamble.
Paget's disease is a condition in which the bones breaks or becomes weak faster than the normal and the new bone replacement does not replace it properly. Paget’s disease occurs in about 2 percent of people above the age of 60. In serious conditions Paget’s disease can be very painful and can lead to bone fractures.Zometa [Novartis drug], halted bone deterioration and abnormal bone growth for at least a year in about 95 percent of patients with Paget's disease. Dr. Paul Miller, collaborator of test centers at 75 medical centers in 10 countries said, "Zometa produced a "higher response, faster response and a longer duration of remission" in tests against daily treatments of Procter & Gamble Pharmaceutical's Actonel”. The results of the study which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that Zometa led to six months of improvement in 96 percent of 176 people tested.
Though, the drug Zometa can produce mild side effects, flu-like symptoms such as mild fever and muscle aches these symptoms disappear after four days, said the researchers, led by Ian Reed of the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Zoledronic acid is approved by Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for Paget's disease in Canada and 27 European countries and the drug is under review by the U.S.
