Bisphosphonates for osteoporosis: from bench to clinic

Bellido shares her views about bisphosphonates, which are, without doubt, one of the most powerful drugs used in the treatment of bone diseases. She says bisphosphonates' high affinity for bone mineral hydroxyapatite makes them tissue specific and inherently devoid of off-target effects on other tissues. She adds that bisphosphonates are analogs of inorganic pyrophosphate (P), in which the oxygen (O) of the P-O-P chemical structure is replaced by a carbon (C), leading to the P-C-P structure. This change provides the opportunity of adding two chemical groups to the C, leading to the synthesis of alternative analogs with different potencies and varying affinities for the bone mineral.