the term “ bisphosphonic acid ” means compounds characterized by two phosphonate groups linked by phosphoether bonds to a central ( geminal ) carbon atom . such a p — c — p structure is represented by compound i ( see , page 6 ). the use of a specific nomenclature in referring to the bisphosphonate or bisphosphonates is not meant to limit the scope of the present invention , unless specifically indicated . the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable ” as used herein means that the salts or chelating agents are acceptable from a toxicity viewpoint . the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable salt ” refers to ammonium salts , alkali metal salts such as potassium and sodium ( including mono , di - and tri - sodium ) salts ( which are preferred ), alkaline earth metal salts such as calcium and magnesium salts , salts with organic bases such as dicyclohexylamine salts , n - methyl - d - glucamine , and salts with amino acids such as arginine , lysine , and so forth . the term “ disorders characterized by pathologically increased bone resorption ” refers to medically defined conditions with or without identifiable cause ( such as post - menopausal osteoporosis , idiopathic juvenile osteoporosis , klinefelter &# 39 ; s syndrome ; male osteoporosis ; osteoporosis due to nutritional factors ; organ transplant related osteoporosis ; immobilization associated osteoporosis ; inflammatory condition and cortico - steroid induced osteoporosis ). the term “ one , two or three consecutive days per month ” means administration of one to three dose proportional or non - dose proportional tablets on one , two or three consecutive days of the month , preferably on one day per month . as used herein , the term “ month ” is used in accordance with the generally accepted meaning as a measure of time amounting to approximately four ( 4 ) weeks , approximately 30 days , or approximately 1 / 12 of a calendar year . the term “ medicament ” refers to a pharmaceutical composition . the term encompasses single or multiple administration schemes . preferably , the medicament is administered on one day per month . preferably , the medicament is administered as a single dose , however , the scope of the present invention includes pharmaceutical compositions administered as multiple sub - doses such as on two consecutive day per month or on three consecutive days per month . preferably , the medicament comprises at least 100 %, preferably 120 % to 200 % of the efficacious dose of bisphosphonic acids or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , more preferably of ibandronic acid or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof . the term “ efficacious dose ” refers to about 50 to about 250 mg , more preferably to about 100 to about 150 mg , of a bisphosphonate or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , for example , of ibandronic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . as noted , the efficacious dose may be a single dose or multiple sub - doses . for example , if the efficacious dose is 150 mg , the dose may be one ( 1 ) 150 mg dose , two ( 2 ) 75 mg sub - doses administered on one day or on two consecutive days , or three ( 3 ) 50 mg sub - doses administered on one day or on two or three consecutive days ; if the efficacious dose is 100 mg , the dose may include one ( 1 ) 100 mg dose , two ( 2 ) 50 mg sub - doses administered on one day or two consecutive days , preferably on two consecutive days . “ bisphosphonic acids and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof ” as pharmaceutical agents are described for example in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 509 , 612 ; 4 , 666 , 895 ; 4 , 719 , 203 ; 4 , 777 , 163 ; 5 , 002 , 937 and 4 , 971 , 958 and in european patent applications nos . 252 , 504 and 252 , 505 , herein incorporated by reference for such description . methods for the preparation of bisphosphonic acids and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof may be found in , e . g ., u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 962 , 432 ; 4 , 054 , 598 ; 4 , 267 , 108 ; 4 , 327 , 039 ; 4 , 407 , 761 ; 4 , 621 , 077 ; 4 , 624 , 947 ; 4 , 746 , 654 ; 4 , 970 , 335 ; 5 , 019 , 651 ; 4 , 761 , 406 ; 4 , 876 , 248 ; in j . org . chem . 32 , 4111 ( 1967 ) and european patent application 252 , 504 , herein incorporated by reference . the pharmaceutically acceptable salts of bisphosphonic acids may also be employed in the instant invention . examples of base salts of bisphosphonic acids include ammonium salts , alkali metal salts such as potassium and sodium ( including mono , di - and tri - sodium ) salts ( which are preferred ), alkaline earth metal salts such as calcium and magnesium salts , salts with organic bases such as dicyclohexylamine salts , n - methyl - d - glucamine , and salts with amino acids such as arginine , lysine , and so forth . non - toxic , physiologically acceptable salts are preferred . the salts may be prepared by methods known in the art , such as described in european patent application 252 , 504 or in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 922 , 077 , incorporated herein by reference . in this invention , the medicament comprises 100 to 150 mg of a ibandronic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . the pharmaceutical composition comprises at least 150 % of a bisphosphonic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients thereof . in one embodiment , the bisphosphonic acid is ibandronic acid . preferably , the medicament is administered as a single dose . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the term “ bisphosphonate ” of the present invention corresponds to compounds of general formula wherein a and x are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , hydroxy , halogen , amino , sh , phenyl , alkyl , mono - or dialkylamino , mono - or dialkylaminoalkyl , alkoxy , thioalkyl , thiophenyl , and aryl or heteroaryl moieties selected from the group consisting of phenyl , pyridyl , furanyl , pyrrolidinyl , imidazolyl , and benzyl , wherein the aryl or heteroaryl moiety is optionally substituted with alkyl . in the foregoing chemical formula , a can include x , and x include a such that the two moieties can form part of the same cyclic structure . the foregoing chemical formula is also intended to encompass carbocyclic , aromatic and heteroaromatic structures for the a and / or x substituents , e . g . naphthyl , quinolyl , isoquinolyl , adamantyl , and chlorophenylthio . preferred structures are those in which a is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , hydroxy , and halogen , an x is selected from the group consisting of alkyl , halogen , thiophenyl , thioalkyl and dialkylaminoalkyl . more preferred structures are those in which a is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , hydroxy , and cl and x is selected from the group consisting of alkyl , cl , chlorophenylthio and dialkylaminoalkyl . the preferred bisphosphonic acid or pharmaceutically acceptable salt is selected from the group consisting of alendronate , cimadronate , clodronate , tiludronate , etidronate , ibandronate , incadronate , minodronate , neridronate , olpadronate , risedronate , pamidronate , piridronate , zolendronate , eb - 1053 or acceptable salts thereof , e . g ., ibandronic acid , monosodium salt , monohydrate . ibandronic acid ( 1 - hydroxy - 3 -( n - methyl - n - pentyl ) aminopropylidene - 1 , 1 - bisphosphonic acid ) or physiologically compatible salts thereof are particularly preferred , e . g ., ibandronic acid , monosodium salt , monohydrate . the bisphosphonates and pharmaceutically acceptable salts may be administered alone or in combination with other bone active drugs , either in fixed combinations or separately both physically and in time , including hormones , such as a steroid hormone , e . g ., an estrogen ; a partial estrogen agonist , or estrogen - gestagen combination ; a calcitonin or analogue or derivative thereof , e . g ., salmon , eel or human calcitonin parathyroid hormone or analogues thereof , e . g ., pth ( 1 - 84 ), pth ( 1 - 34 ), pth ( 1 - 36 ), pth ( 1 - 38 ), pth ( 1 - 31 ) nh2 or ppts 893 ; a serm ( selective estrogen receptor modulator ), e . g ., raloxifene , lasofoxifene , tse - 434 , fc1271 , tibolone , vitamin d or an analog . such additional bone active drugs may be administered more frequently than the bisphosphonate . appropriate pharmaceutical compositions are known in the art and have been described e . g ., in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 143 , 326 and 6 , 294 , 196 , herein incorporated by reference . for the preparation of tablets , coated tablets , dragées or hard gelatine capsules , the compounds of the present invention may be admixed with pharmaceutically inert , inorganic or organic excipients . examples of suitable excipients for tablets , dragées or hard gelatine capsules include lactose , maize starch or derivatives thereof , talc or stearic acid or salts thereof . the pharmaceutical compositions may also contain preserving agents , solubilizing agents , stabilizing agents , wetting agents , emulsifiers , sweeteners , colorants , odorants , salts for the variation of osmotic pressure , buffers , coating agents or antioxidants . they may also contain other therapeutically valuable agents . preferably , the pharmaceutical composition is a film coated tablet wherein the tablet core comprises 50 to 200 mg of a bisphosphonic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof as defined above and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients selected from the group consisting of lactose , polyvinylpyrrolidone , microcrystalline cellulose , crospovidone , stearic acid , silicon dioxide and the tablet core comprises one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients selected from the group consisting of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose , titanium dioxide , talc and polyethylene glycol 6000 . these compositions are known in the art and described for example in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 143 , 326 and 6 , 294 , 196 . another aspect of the present invention is a method for treating , reducing or preventing disorders characterized by pathologically increased bone resorption comprising to a mammal administration of an effective amount of bisphosphonic acids or acceptable salts thereof . in particular , the invention refers to a method for treating , reducing or preventing disorders characterized by pathologically increased bone resorption comprising oral administration of an effective amount of a bisphosphonic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , wherein approximately 50 to 250 mg bisphosphonic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof are administered on one , two or three consecutive days per month . as noted above , the effective amount of bisphosphonic acid or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof may be administered as a single dose or as multiple sub - doses . preferably , in the method comprises administration of about 50 to 250 mg , preferably about 100 to 150 mg , of a bisphosphonate or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof on one , two or three consecutive days per month . while the method includes administration of the dose through multiple sub - dosing , the preferred method provides a single dose . examples for administration of the dose through multiple sub - dosing are as follows , if the efficacious dose is 150 mg , the dose may be two ( 2 ) 75 mg sub - doses administered on one day or on two consecutive days , or three ( 3 ) 50 mg sub - doses administered on one day or on two or three consecutive days ; if the efficacious dose is 100 mg , the dose may be two ( 2 ) 50 mg sub - doses administered on one day or two consecutive days , preferably on two consecutive days . the preferred bisphosphonate is ibandronate or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , e . g ., ibandronic acid , monosodium salt , monohydrate . preferably , in the method according to the present invention , the bisphosphonic acid is selected from the group consisting of alendronate , cimadronate , clodronate , tiludronate , etidronate , ibandronate , incadronate , minodronate , neridronate , olpadronate , risedronate , pamidronate , piridronate , zolendronate , eb - 1053 or pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof . more preferably , the bisphosphonic acid is ibandronate or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , e . g . ibandronic acid , monosodium salt , monohydrate . the invention will now be explained with reference to exemplified embodiments . the example shows the composition of a 50 mg tablet . the composition and preparation of these tablets is known in the art and described for example in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 143 , 326 and 6 , 294 , 196 . other compositions may be prepared by adjusting the ingredients according to the amount of bisphosphonate , e . g . ibandronic acid , monosodium salt , monohydrate .
the present invention refers to a pharmaceutical composition of a bisphosphonic acid or salt thereof , and an excipient thereof , and a method of treating disorder characterized by pathologically increased bone resorption comprising orally administering at least 150 % of the expected efficious daily dose of a bisphosphonic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients thereof and administering the dose at a period of one two or three consecutive days per month .