Localised bone density increases through combined material and drug treatment

Injectable hydrogel works with medication to treat osteoporosis.

The injectable hydrogel, developed at EPFL start-up flowbone, is made of hyaluronic acid and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. It is designed to mimic the natural minerals in bone.

A diagnosis of osteoporosis is usually followed by treatment with systemic drugs that work either by decreasing the resorption rate of old bone (anti-catabolism) or boosting new bone production (anabolism).

But both types of treatment can take up to a year to have an effect, leaving patients vulnerable to fracture in the meantime.

In rats that received a systemic anabolic treatment (parathyroid hormone), plus the hydrogel mixed with the anti-catabolic drug Zoledronate, the bone density is said to have increased up to 4.8-fold in just two-to-four weeks.

The flowbone team is now awaiting regulatory approval to begin a clinical study in humans.