Serum BAP was measured by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay on an automatic analyzer (UniCel DxI 800, Beckman Coulter, LaBrea, CA) using Access Ostase reagent. Urinary NTX was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on an automated machine (NIPPON ADVANCED

TECHNOLOGY, Ibaraki, Japan) using Osteomark (Alere Health, Tilburg, The Netherlands); the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were below 7% and 6%, respectively. Urinary CTX was measured using an enzyme immunoassay kit (Urine BETA CrossLaps® ELISA, Nordic Bioscience Diagnostics, Herlev, Denmark). The results of the biochemical markers of bone metabolism assays were measured at SRL, a central laboratory in Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan, using standard methods. Safety was evaluated by the records selleck chemical of all adverse events (AEs), vital signs, and clinical laboratory test values (hematology, RG-7204 biochemistry and urinalysis). Investigators

asked the subjects questions about subjective symptoms at each visit and took vital signs, and clinical laboratory test values at baseline, and after 0.5, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. AEs were coded using Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) version 14.1. The incidence of AEs was calculated in each treatment group. AEs counted as non-vertebral fractures included all fractures except those occurring in vertebra. Gastrointestinal symptoms included events that were classified in accordance with the MedDRA system organ class (SOC) as “gastrointestinal disorders”, excluding the preferred terms referring to oral and anal conditions, but including the preferred terms “gastroenteritis”. Adverse events potentially associated with acute phase reaction (APR) included symptoms of influenza-like

illness or pyrexia with a starting date within others the first 3 days after the first dose of study drug and a duration of 7 days or less. Three types of analysis sets were used. The full analysis set (FAS) was defined as all subjects who were randomized and received at least one dose of the study drug. The per-protocol set (PPS) was defined as all FAS subjects who had no major protocol deviation, fulfilled minimum protocol requirements, and whose primary endpoint was evaluable. The safety analysis set was defined as all subjects who received at least one dose of the study drug. The primary endpoint was mean percent change from baseline in lumbar vertebrae (L2–L4) BMD measured using DXA at the end of the study (Month 12 with the last observation carried forward, hereafter referred to as M12, LOCF). A non-inferiority t-test (non-inferiority margin Δ = 1.5%, one-sided type I error = 2.5%) was performed as the primary analysis, to compare the primary endpoint between the 75 mg once-monthly group and the 2.5 mg once-daily group in FAS.