Monthly oral ibandronate 100 mg is as effective as monthly intravenous ibandronate 1 mg in patients with various pathologies in the MOVEST study.

The non-inferiority of oral ibandronate 100 mg to intravenous (i.v.) ibandronate 1 mg in increasing lumbar spine (LS) bone mineral density (BMD) after 12 months of treatment was demonstrated in the randomized, phase III MOVEST study. We conducted subgroup analyses in the per-protocol set of the study (n = 183 oral ibandronate; n = 189 i.v. ibandronate). In patients with LS BMD T score ≥ -3.0 or < -3.0 at screening, LS BMD gains from baseline were 4.42 and 5.79%, respectively, with oral ibandronate, and 4.60 and 5.83%, respectively, with i.v. ibandronate. LS BMD gains in patients with or without prevalent vertebral fractures were 5.21 and 5.23%, respectively, with oral ibandronate, and 5.01 and 5.49%, respectively, with i.v. ibandronate. In patients aged <75 or ≥75 years, LS BMD gains were 5.46 and 4.51%, respectively, with oral ibandronate, and 5.25 and 5.77%, respectively, with i.v. ibandronate. LS BMD gains in patients with baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels ≥20 or <20 ng/mL were 5.35 and 4.76%, respectively, with oral ibandronate, and 5.05 and 6.57%, respectively, with i.v. ibandronate. Similar results were obtained in patients with or without prior bisphosphonate (BP) treatment, and in those receiving osteoporosis drug treatment other than BPs. In conclusion, oral ibandronate 100 mg demonstrated comparable BMD gains with monthly i.v. ibandronate, and thus shows high utility in the lifestyle and disease conditions associated with osteoporosis in Japanese patients.