European Medicines Agency London, 1 September 2005 Doc.Ref.: EMEA/278873/2005 Bonviva International Nonproprietary Name: Ibandronic acid Following the procedure EMEA/H/C/501/X/01 7 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 4HB, UK Tel. (44-20) 74 18 84 00 Fax (44-20) 74 18 86 68 E-mail:
[email protected] http://www.emea.eu.int EMEA 2005 Reproduction and/or distribution of this document is authorised for non commercial purposes only provided the EMEA is acknowledged 1 SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION 1.1 Introduction and rationale The MAH submitted an extension application under Annex II, point 2 iii to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1085/2003 to request the approval of a 150 mg tablet as a monthly dosing regimen of ibandronate only for the indication of “treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, in order to reduce the risk of vertebral fractures”. This claim is based on the results of a phase III study MOBILE (BM16549) comparing 100 and 150 mg once monthly to 2.5 mg once daily. Due to the inconveniences associated with intake of oral bisphosphonates (i.e. fasting conditions, frequent upper gastrointestinal intolerance) that may result in poor compliance, it was considered desirable to develop a more convenient drug formulation. Hence a 150 mg once monthly oral regimen is expected to offer greater convenience to postmenopausal women when compared to the currently approved 2.5mg once daily tablet. The development programme No new pre-clinical pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies have been performed in addition to those included in the previous submission for ibandronate 2.5 mg daily oral tablets.