RANKL

When there is a misbalance in bone metabolism and the rate of bone resorption exceeds that of bone formation, pathological conditions such as osteoporosis ensue. Due to its role as an important regulator of bone metabolism, RANKL appears to be a promising target for osteoporosis and related disorders.

Indeed, denosumab (Prolia), a humanized monoclonal antibody that prevents RANKL from binding to its receptor, is currently used in the clinic as a successful treatment for osteoporosis, while there is an increasing interest in the development of denosumab biosimilars and novel compounds that also target the RANK/RANKL pathway as a treatment for bone metabolic diseases.