Awakening the silent osteoporosis market

Osteoporosis. The potential market is massive, and drugs offering new hope for patients, such as Forteo, are about to expand the industry's range of effective therapy to cope with the growing incidence of this condition. Now, physicians and patients must be made more aware of the need to identify and treat the condition. Here's a look at the current market and what lies ahead.

We've seen this therapeutic problem before - the need to treat a condition that shows no symptoms now but threatens serious consequences in the future.

That problem is being solved in dealing with cardiovascular disease. Hypercholesteremia is a risk factor for myocardial infarction and hypertension poses threat of stroke, but cholesterol and blood pressure measurements are routine in physical exams, and, where indicated, therapy is initiated to lessen possibility of cardiovascular incidents.

Not so for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is defined by the World Health Organization as a skeletal disease with low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue, resulting in susceptibility for fracture. Gradual bone loss begins between ages 30 and 40. Osteoporosis is often called the "silent disease," because in early stages there are no symptoms. In the United States, roughly one in four women over age 50 has primary osteoporosis.