By Frances Bishopp

Staff Writer

Metra Biosystems, Berlex Laboratories and Norland Medical Systems have joined together in the creation of a program designed to diagnose and treat post-menopausal women afflicted with bone-related diseases, in particular osteoporosis.

Under the agreement, Berlex's female healthcare sales force will promote to U.S. obstetricians and gynecologists Metra's Pyrilinks D bone resorption immunoassay, Norland's p-DEXA and OsteoAnalyzer bone densitometer products and Berlex's female health-care products for the management of menopausal women and the physiologic changes associated with menopause.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Metra develops biochemical diagnostic tools for bone and joint disease. The Mountain View, Calif., company developed the immunoassay using its Pyrilinks D technology to measure the rate of resorption to help physicians determine whether a patient is at risk for osteoporosis.

Pyrilinks D measures deoxypyridinoline (Dpd), a specific marker of bone resorption which is excreted unmetabolized in urine.

Unlike steel girders that support buildings, bone is constantly remodeling itself -- breaking down old bone and adding new bone. When the breakdown process of resorption or bone loss outpaces bone rebuilding, osteoporosis can result.

Osteoporosis affects 25 million Americans, 80 percent of whom are women.

Kurg Amundson, vice president and chief financial officer of Metra, said his company's Pyrilinks D resorption immunoassay determines whether the female is losing bone at normal rates or higher than normal rates.

Norland, of White Plains, N.Y., produces the p-DEXA and OsteoAnalyzer bone densitometer product, which, Amundson explained, is essentially a bone scan used to diagnose how much bone loss has occurred.

"This test combined with the rate of change, which is what we provide, gives a full picture," Amundson said.

Berlex, of Wayne, N.J., offers a seven-day estrogen patch for hormone replacement therapy, which is considered standard treatment for osteoporosis.

"Estrogen is an anti-absorptive drug for women," Amundson said. "Women are prone to osteoporosis because they don't build as strong a peak mass as men. When you go into menopause and lose estrogen, you go into accelerated bouts of bone loss," Amundson said, who added that one out of three women are considered "hypolosers" of bone mass.

Amundson said the Berlex sales force is being trained with the intention of beginning an active sales program in July targeting approximately 30,000 OB/GYNs across the country. *