Pharmacy in jobs, news, schools

   By Jennifer Corbett Dooren
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel on Thursday unanimously backed the use of denosumab, a proposed Amgen Inc. (AMGN) drug, to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

The panel is currently voting on a series of questions including whether denosumab should be approved to prevent osteoporosis and whether the drug should be used in patients undergoing hormone therapy to treat breast or prostate cancer. Hormone therapy increases the risk of bone loss. Read more…

The drug, called denosumab, blocks production of cells that break down bones. In two studies, spinal fractures were reduced by two-thirds in women ages 60-90 and in men getting prostate cancer therapy