Effects of intravenous ibandronate injection on renal function in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at high risk for renal disease--the DIVINE study.

The Designed for intravenous (IV) Ibandronate reNal safety Evaluation (DIVINE) study was a 1-year prospective, randomized, open label, multi-center study that evaluated the renal safety of quarterly (every 3 months) ibandronate IV injection given over 15-30s compared with infusion given over 15 min, and weekly oral alendronate, in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) at increased risk for renal disease. Both injection and infusion of IV ibandronate showed comparable safety to alendronate, with only small changes in serum creatinine (sCr) for each treatment group, and AEs were generally comparable between groups. All three treatments had similar effects on renal function, measured by change in baseline of the glomerular filtration rate; the ibandronate IV injection group was noninferior to the ibandronate IV infusion and weekly oral alendronate groups at 9 months, with similar results at 1 year. The results of this study demonstrate the profile of IV ibandronate, which allows it to be dosed as an IV injection in the primary care setting without the need for an infusion, even in patients with pre-existing hypertension or diabetes mellitus.