Novel Teriparatide (PTH) Formulation

A daily injection for osteoporosis must stay refrigerated, forcing patients to plan their lives around a cold chain for two years. About 55% of people over 50 are at risk of the disease, which already affects 2 million people in the UK. Hip fractures alone cost the NHS £2 billion annually. The current drug, teriparatide (PTH), cuts vertebral fractures by 66–90% and non-vertebral fractures by roughly 50%, but few doctors prescribe it because patients cannot travel or work freely during the 24-month treatment course. This project aims to develop a generic version of PTH that patients can use “on the go,” delivered through a needle-free injector called Glide SDI®. If successful, the new formulation would remove the refrigeration requirement and lower the cost, making an effective osteoporosis treatment far more accessible. That could reduce fracture rates, ease pressure on NHS budgets, and free patients from the daily constraint of keeping a drug cold—a practical shift in how a common, debilitating condition is managed.