Developing the first drug for a deadly bone disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved palovarotene (Sohonos) as the first treatment for fibrodysplasia ossifcans progressiva (FOP), a severely disabling condition that causes abnormal bone formation in place of soft and connective tissues. The approval was based on research conducted through a multicenter clinical trial, including patients being treated with the drug at UC San Francisco’s Metabolic Bone Clinic.