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NCT Number: NCT07772609

Sequential Treatment With Romosozumab Followed by Denosumab vs. Zoledronic Acid for Gains in HIP BMD

Osteoporosis is associated with a high risk of fractures, disability, loss of independence, and excess mortality. Zoledronic acid is an established first-line treatment in Sweden, but many patients at high fracture risk remain at substantial residual fracture risk. Short-course treatment with romosozumab followed by denosumab produces large increases in bone mineral density, but has not been directly compared with zoledronic acid.

STRONG-HIP is a multicentre, randomized, active-controlled phase 4 trial in 216 postmenopausal women aged 60 years or older with osteoporosis and high fracture risk. Participants are randomized 1:1 to receive romosozumab 210 mg monthly for 3 months followed by denosumab 60 mg every 6 months, or zoledronic acid 5 mg intravenously at baseline and Month 12.

The primary objective is to determine whether the romosozumab-denosumab sequence produces a greater percentage increase in total hip bone mineral density from baseline to Month 24 than zoledronic acid. Secondary outcomes include total hip and lumbar spine BMD at earlier time points, vertebral and clinical fractures, bone turnover markers, safety, health-related quality of life, and health-economic outcomes. A mechanistic substudy will assess bone microarchitecture and estimated strength using HR-pQCT.

Participants are followed for 24 months in the main study and may enter an optional extension with follow-up to Month 48 to assess the durability of treatment effects.

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Key information

Age range

60 year and older

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 4

Primary location

Skåne Universitetssjukhus, Malmö, Skåne County, Sweden

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Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • The subject is a postmenopausal woman aged 60 years or older at screening.
  • The subject has provided written informed consent before any trial-specific procedure is performed.
  • The subject has osteoporosis at screening defined as a T-score of -2.5 or lower at the total hip or lumbar spine (L1-L4) on central reader confirmed bone densitometry by DXA.
  • The subject is at high fracture risk, defined by at least one of the following: a previous low-trauma fracture after age 50 years (excluding skull, face, fingers and toes); FRAX probability at or above the age-specific Swedish intervention threshold (using Nordic and Nordic borne calculations, as appropriate) in use at screening.
  • Corrected plasma calcium or ionized calcium is within the local reference range before randomization.
  • Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration ≥50 nmol/L before randomization.
  • Adequate renal function for zoledronic acid treatment, defined as creatinine clearance ≥35 mL/min calculated using the clinical trial center specified calculation procedure (e.g. the Cockcroft-Gault equation) before randomization.
  • The subject is able and willing, in the investigator's judgment, to comply with the trial procedures and attend scheduled visits.
  • For participants entering the extension, separate written extension consent is obtained before any extension-specific procedure is performed.

Exclusion criteria

  • Severe osteoporosis, defined as total hip or lumbar spine T-score < -3.5 and/or prevalent grade 2 or grade 3 vertebral fracture.
  • Previous myocardial infarction or stroke at any time before screening.
  • Transient ischemic attack, unstable angina, coronary or major peripheral revascularization within 12 months before screening, decompensated heart failure, uncontrolled clinically relevant arrhythmia, or any cardiovascular condition that in the investigator's judgment confers unacceptably high risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event during study participation.
  • Use of intravenous bisphosphonate therapy or teriparatide within 3 years before randomization.
  • Use of oral bisphosphonate or denosumab within 12 months before randomization.
  • Any previous use of romosozumab.
  • Use of systemic estrogen, selective estrogen receptor modulator within 3 months.
  • Use of oral glucocorticoids for more than 14 consecutive days during the 6 months before screening.
  • Known metabolic bone disease other than postmenopausal osteoporosis, including but not limited to Pagets disease, osteomalacia, untreated hyperparathyroidism, osteogenesis imperfecta, or active renal osteodystrophy.
  • Creatinine clearance below 35 mL/min, rapidly deteriorating renal function, or another renal condition that makes zoledronic acid unsafe.
  • Hypocalcaemia (ionized calcium <1.15 mmol/l or total albumin corrected calcium of <2.15 mmol/l) or vitamin D 25-OH-vit-D <50nmol/l, not corrected before randomization.
  • Unexplained serum alkaline phosphatase >2 times the local upper limit of normal.
  • Malignancy within the last 5 years, except adequately treated basal-cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous-cell carcinoma in situ of the skin, or cervical carcinoma in situ.
  • Current osteonecrosis of the jaw, unhealed oral or jaw lesions, active dental or jaw infection, or planned invasive dental extraction/implant procedure that has not been completed and healed before randomization, if considered by the investigator to represent a contraindication or unacceptable risk for treatment with romosozumab, denosumab or zoledronic acid.
  • Known hypersensitivity or contraindication to romosozumab, denosumab, zoledronic acid, calcium supplementation, or vitamin D supplementation that cannot be safely managed under the protocol.
  • Inability to undergo protocol DXA/VFA reliably, for example because of body habitus exceeding scanner limits, inability to position safely, or interfering hardware or artefacts that prevent valid endpoint assessment.
  • Current participation, or recent participation within 30 days or five half-lives (whichever is longer), in another interventional clinical trial that could affect safety or data interpretation.
  • Any other medical, psychiatric, social or logistical condition that, in the investigators opinion, makes participation unsafe or would compromise protocol adherence or data reliability.

Treatment and study plan

Romosozumab

Drug

Romosozumab 210 mg will be administered by subcutaneous injection once monthly for 3 consecutive months. Each monthly dose consists of two consecutive 105 mg injections.

Other names: Evenity

Zoledronic Acid 5 MG in 5 ML Injection

Drug

Zoledronic acid 5 mg intravenously at Baseline and Month 12, with additional doses at Months 24 and 36 in the extension unless contraindicated or clinically inappropriate.

Calcium 500 mg and Vitamin D3 800 IU

Dietary Supplement

Calcium and vitamin D supplementation, using 500 mg elemental calcium plus 20 micrograms cholecalciferol daily for 24 months. Participants entering the optional extension will receive daily calcium and vitamin D supplementation throughout the study.

Denosumab

Drug

Denosumab 60 mg by subcutaneous injection at Months 3, 9, 15, and 21. Participants entering the optional extension will continue denosumab at Months 27, 33, 39, and 45 unless contraindicated or clinically inappropriate.

Primary outcomes

  1. Percent change in total hip bone mineral density

    Time frame: 24 months

    Percentage change from baseline to month 24 in total hip bone mineral density, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Percent change in lumbar spine bone mineral density at Months 6, 12 and 24.

    Time frame: Baseline to 6, 12 and 24 months.

    Percentage change from baseline to months 6, 12 and 24 in lumbar spine bone mineral density, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

  2. Percent Change From Baseline in Total Hip BMD at Months 6 and 12

    Time frame: Baseline to 6 and 12 months.

    Percentage change from baseline to month 6 and 12 total hip mineral density, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

  3. Incident vertebral fracture

    Time frame: From baseline to months 12, 24 in the main study. For those entering the extension study, from baseline to months 36 and 48.

    Incident morphometric vertebral fracture by Genant grading on centrally read vertebral fracture assessment (VFA)

  4. First clinical fragility fracture

    Time frame: Baseline to month 24, and for those entering the extension study, to months 36 and 48.

    Time to first clinical fragility fracture

  5. Occurrence of any fracture during follow-up.

    Time frame: Baseline to Month 24, and for those entering the extension study, to Months 36 and 48.

    Occurrence of any new morphometric vertebral fracture or clinical fragility fracture during follow-up.

  6. Percent Change From Baseline in plasma C-Terminal Telopeptide of Type I Collagen

    Time frame: Baseline and Months 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24

    Percent change from baseline in plasma C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), a marker of bone resorption. Samples will be collected before study-drug administration at treatment visits and analysed centrally. Treatment-group differences over time will be assessed using a longitudinal repeated-measures model.

  7. Percent Change From Baseline in Plasma Procollagen Type I N-Terminal Propeptide

    Time frame: Baseline and Months 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24

    Percent change from baseline in Plasma Procollagen Type I N-Terminal Propeptide, a marker of bone formation. Samples will be collected before study-drug administration at treatment visits and analysed centrally. Treatment-group differences over time will be assessed using a longitudinal repeated-measures model.

  8. EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) Health-State Utility Index

    Time frame: Baseline, Month 12, and Month 24

    The EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire will be converted to a health-state utility index using the prespecified Swedish value set. Index values range from -0.31 to 1.00, where 1.00 represents full health and higher values indicate better health-related quality of life. Between-group changes from baseline will be evaluated at Months 12 and 24.

  9. Model-Estimated Lifetime Number of Fractures

    Time frame: Month 24

    Expected lifetime numbers of hip, vertebral, and other osteoporotic fractures will be estimated for each treatment strategy using a lifetime decision-analytic osteoporosis model informed by the randomized Month-24 total hip BMD treatment difference and Swedish epidemiological data.

  10. Budget Impact of the Sequential Treatment Strategy

    Time frame: Month 24

    Estimated net financial impact over a prespecified 5-year implementation horizon of introducing the sequential treatment strategy in Swedish clinical practice, based on the eligible population, expected uptake, treatment costs, and projected fracture-related cost offsets.

Other outcomes

  1. Model-Predicted Fracture Risk Reduction Based on Total Hip BMD

    Time frame: Month 24

    Fracture-specific relative and absolute risk reductions will be estimated from the adjusted randomized between-group difference in percent change from baseline in total hip BMD at Month 24. The treatment difference will be translated into expected fracture-risk reductions using prespecified validated meta-regression models underpinning the FDA-qualified total hip BMD surrogate endpoint. Estimates may include hip, vertebral, nonvertebral, and all clinical fractures, according to the available validated models.

  2. Incremental Cost per Quality-Adjusted Life-Year (QALY) Gained

    Time frame: Month 24

    Incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained for the sequential treatment strategy compared with zoledronic acid, estimated from a Swedish healthcare perspective using a lifetime health-economic model. The model will use treatment effects derived from the randomized Month-24 total hip BMD difference together with Swedish epidemiological, cost, mortality, and utility inputs.

  3. Model-Estimated Lifetime Healthcare Costs

    Time frame: Month 24

    Discounted lifetime healthcare costs per participant, including treatment, administration, monitoring, adverse-event management, and fracture-related healthcare costs, estimated from a Swedish healthcare perspective using a lifetime health-economic model based on treatment effects and other study data available at Month 24.

  4. Model-Estimated Quality-Adjusted Life-Years

    Time frame: Month 24

    Discounted lifetime quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) per participant estimated using EQ-5D-5L and prespecified fracture-state utility inputs in a lifetime health-economic model based on treatment effects and other study data available at Month 24.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Lena Silberberg, BSc

CONTACT

[email protected]

+46313421000

Mattias Lorentzon, MD, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

+46313431979

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Sahlgrenska University Hospital

Other

Collaborators

  • Göteborg University
  • Karolinska University Hospital
  • Norrlands University Hospital
  • Region Stockholm
  • Skane University Hospital
  • Skaraborg Hospital
  • Sundsvall Hospital
  • University Hospital, Linkoeping
  • Uppsala University Hospital

Registry information

Official study title

Short-course Romosozumab Followed by Denosumab Versus Zoledronic Acid: A Multicentre Randomized Active-controlled Trial in Postmenopausal Women at High Fracture Risk

Acronym: STRONG-HIP

Important dates

Study start
2027
Primary completion
2029
Study completion
2031
First posted
Aug 19, 2026
Registry last updated
Aug 19, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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