Who is this flying nun? Sally Fields, of course. That was a hit 1960’s TV series in which she starred as an innocent waif with the equivalent of wings. More recently, though, the perky actress with the youthful look - she’s 60 years old now - has successfully pitched a campaign for Boniva, the osteoporosis med marketed by Roche and Glaxo.

Last week, however, Novartis won FDA approval for a rival med, Reclast, which only needs to be taken once a year. But as Joe Tooley, an analyst at AG Edwards points out in an investor note this morning, the market is flat - year-over-year growth is only 0.3 percent. Right now, the leader is Merck’s Fosamax, with a 41.5 percent share of the oral bisphosphonates market.

But, he notes, “perhaps the biggest challenge to Reclast’s acceptance will be Roche and Glaxo’s once-monthly Boniva, which currently holds 11.9 percent share of total scrips. Boniva is growing in excess of 37 percent annually and stealing market share from the other oral agents with its more favorable once-monthly dosing.” Helped, of course, by the effervescent Sally Fields.

Now, if Sally made her name in ‘The Sopranos,’ it may be fitting for the Novartis marketing team to have someone break her bones. How else to eliminate competition? Life imitating art, as it were. Then again, if Boniva is truly effective, this wouldn’t work. The alternative then is to come up with an equally successful ad campaign with an equally spunky pitchwoman. But who?

Novartis better find someone. As Tooley points out, other than Lilly’s Evista, which is a different type of med, Reclast is the highest-priced bisphosphonate on the basis of yearly cost - $1,041 per dose, which is more than Boniva ($940.92 at drugstore.com), Fosamax ($716.28 at drugstore.com) and Actonel ($959.90 at drugstore.com). Hey, a hundred bucks is still a hundred bucks. And Sally Fields is still flying high.