Cortecs International Ltd. announced last week that it intendsto take its orally delivered calcitonin into advanced clinicaltrials in patients with osteoporosis next year.

Cortecs of London intends to conduct the trials at a Londonteaching hospital.

The decision follows successful Phase I tests in the UnitedKingdom comparing oral salmon calcitonin in enteric-coatedcapsules with subcutaneous delivery of the compound inhealthy volunteers.

Calcitonin acts by inhibiting the action of osteoclasts, which arethe cells that break down bone.

In the Phase I trials, the clinicians monitored the action ofcalcitonin by measuring the excretion of deoxypyridinoline, acollagen breakdown product produced when bone is destroyed.

Cortecs (NASDAQ:DLVRY) reported positive results in thesetests using doses down to 400 units of oral calcitonin.

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