Deltanoid Announces the Initiation of a Phase 2 Study of 2MD for Osteoporosis

Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company based in Madison, WI,


announced today the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical study of their lead osteoporosis compound,


2MD. The study is expected to demonstrate that 2MD can safely improve bone mineral density in


postmenopausal women.


The study will be conducted in postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density at eight


clinical sites throughout the United States. The Osteoporosis Clinical Center and Research


Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of the participating centers.


2MD, also known as DP001, is a novel vitamin D analog discovered in the laboratory of Hector


DeLuca, a professor and researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The compound has


been found to induce new bone formation in animal models of osteoporosis. Previous clinical


studies have uniformly demonstrated that the compound is safe and well tolerated, resulting in


changes in bone biomarkers consistent with the formation of new bone.


“We are very pleased to announce the initiation of this study of 2MD,” said Hector Deluca, who is


also president and CEO of Deltanoid. “There is a medical need for a safe, orally active bone


formation agent to treat osteoporosis. The preclinical and clinical data argue compellingly that


2MD will be such a compound.”


About Osteoporosis


Osteoporosis, which occurs frequently in postmenopausal women, elderly women and persons


taking corticosteroids, is a disease caused by the loss of normal bone that results in susceptibility


to fractures. At present, treatments for osteoporosis rely primarily on anti-resorptive agents,


which aim to reduce the loss of bone, but cannot induce new bone formation. The new bone


formation agents that have been recently introduced in the U.S. are administered by injection only


and have limited indication in terms of patient population and treatment duration. There is


therefore a growing demand for an orally active bone formation agent to treat osteoporosis, which


currently affects some 10 million people in the United States, with an additional 34 million at risk.


The current global market for osteoporosis is estimated at greater than $7 billion and is growing


as the population ages.


About Deltanoid


Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a pharmaceutical company engaged in the research,


development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of diseases including


osteoporosis, bone diseases of kidney failure, psoriasis, autoimmune diseases and cancers. The


company began operations in 2001 to advance the development of selected patented vitamin D


compounds developed at the UW-Madison and licensed from the Wisconsin Alumni Research


Foundation.