Amgen and UCB Team Up With NASA on Final Space Shuttle Mission to Conduct Preclinical Test of Sclerostin Antibody on Bone Loss

Amgen

and UCB announced today that they are collaborating with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center to conduct a preclinical test of a sclerostin antibody in an experiment that will take place aboard space shuttle Atlantis, on the final NASA shuttle mission, Space Shuttle Flight STS-135, scheduled to launch July 8, 2011. The loss of bone mass during space flight remains a significant problem for human space missions, especially long-term flights. This experiment will assess the effect of a sclerostin antibody on the loss of bone associated with space flight in mice. In this experiment of 30 space-flown mice, half of the mice are given the sclerostin antibody and the remaining mice receive a placebo. After the flight, various aspects of the structure, composition, strength, and cell and molecular nature of the bones from the flight and ground-based control mice will be analyzed. The sclerostin antibody is designed to inhibit the action of "sclerostin," a protein that is a key negative regulator of bone formation, bone mass, and bone strength. The findings may also provide insight into potential further research in the prevention and treatment of the skeletal fragility that can result from "skeletal disuse" in such conditions as immobilization, stroke, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, and reduced physical activity.