Design and methodology of the phase 3 trials for the clinical development of strontium ranelate in the treatment of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

摘要

The phase 3 program for strontium ranelate, a new oral agent in the treatment of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, was aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of the daily oral dose of 2 g. This program was conducted in 12 countries, involved 75 centers, and was structured in 3 studies: FIRST (Fracture International Run-in for Strontium ranelate Trial), SOTI (Spinal Osteoporosis Therapeutic Intervention study) and TROPOS (TReatment Of Peripheral OSteoporosis). FIRST, a run-in open study, was designed to start the normalization of the calcium and vitamin D status of the patients, check all entry criteria, and ensure inclusion of a sufficient number of well-motivated patients in either one of the two therapeutic intervention protocols, SOTI or TROPOS: FIRST included 9,196 patients. SOTI and TROPOS were prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trials comparing, in two parallel groups, the daily oral dose of 2 g of strontium ranelate with placebo, the patients of both groups receiving calcium and vitamin D according to their own deficiencies. The main objective of SOTI and TROPOS was to demonstrate a reduction in the incidence of postmenopausal women experiencing a new osteoporotic fracture (vertebral fracture in SOTI and nonvertebral fracture in TROPOS) over a 3-year treatment period, the total duration of the studies being 5 years. SOTI included 1,649 women with at least one osteoporotic vertebral fracture at inclusion and a lumbar BMD