FDA Panel Backs Lilly’s Osteoporosis Drug

Eli Lilly & Co.’s new osteoporosis drug won the backing of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel. The advisory panel voted 8-4 to recommend FDA approval of the drug for the prevention of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. While Lilly’s Evista is “a fine drug” for preventing bone loss, said panel member Robert Kreisberg, he and other panel members said they weren’t sure whether that means the drug can prevent the osteoporosis complication of bone fractures in the same way as estrogen-replacement drugs such as American Home Product Corp.’s Premarin. That’s the “big question,” FDA reviewer Eric Colman said. Shares of Indianapolis-based Lilly rose 87 cents to close at $64.87 on the New York Stock Exchange. The FDA typically follows the advice of its expert panels, though it is not required to do so.