Following US and European approval, Amgen/GSK's Prolia will garner sales of more than $500 million in 2019

The launch and uptake of Amgen/GlaxoSmithKline's Prolia (denosumab) will drive this drug  to generate sales of more than $500 million in 2019 for postmenopausal osteoporosis in the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan, according to advisory firm Decision Resources. Additional sales of Prolia will come from a number of oncology-related indications, which await regulatory approval.

Prolia, which was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and regulators in Europe (where it will be marketed by GSK), is viewed as Amgen's biggest future growth driver (The Pharma Letters June 2 and May 28), and has been forecast by other analysts as having a peak global sales potential of $6 billion.

The Pharmacor 2010 findings from the topic entitled Osteoporosis reveal that uptake of Prolia will be driven by its twice yearly, subcutaneous delivery, which interviewed experts believe will foster better patient compliance than other agents in the market such as generic alendronate and Sanofi-Aventis/Warner Chilcott's Actonel. Interviewed experts regard Prolia's subcutaneous delivery as more convenient than that of alendronate and Actonel (risedronate). However, Prolia's uptake in the mature osteoporosis drug market will be constrained by the increasing availability of generic versions of established agents, safety concerns and its premium price when compared to existing treatments.