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This invention proposes a novel therapy that blocks the function of TLR4—an important immune system signaling protein that triggers OA associated pain and inflammation.
About
Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting over 100 million people in the United States alone. Today, the incidence of developing osteoarthritis of the knee over a lifetime is approximately 45%, resulting in over 48 million people in the U.S. currently suffering from OA of the knee in the. This invention proposes a novel therapy that blocks the function of TLR4—an important immune system signaling protein that triggers OA associated pain and inflammation. Such a treatment, if commercialized, can provide OA associated pain relief to patients in a convenient topical treatment while avoiding the inherent complications and negative side effects of OA drug treatments. About the Market: The global pain management therapeutics market is expected to expand at a 3.7% CAGR over the next five to seven years, largely due to an aging population. At this pace, the market is expected to rise from a valuation of $60.2 billion in 2015 to $83.0 billion by 2024. In recent years, healthcare professionals have habitually prescribed opioids, such as morphine, for moderate to severe and chronic pain. However, the recent spike in opioid overdose in the U.S., termed the “Opioid Epidemic”, has had widespread negative consequences for both the economy and patient health. An estimated $55 billion is spent in health and social costs related to prescription opioid abuse each year and an additional $20 billion in emergency department and inpatient care for opioid poisonings, and the use and abuse of opioids continues to increase. On an average day in the U.S., more than 650,000 opioid prescriptions are dispensed, 3,900 people initiate nonmedical use of prescription opioids, 580 people initiate heroin use, and 78 people die from an opioid-related overdoses. These factors suggest that demand among patients for alternative pain relief treatments, such as highly favored topical pain relievers, will increase in the coming years. The current invention has the potential to fill such a demand and assume the niche of an opioid alternative as a safe and effective topical treatment.