Osteoarthritis Treatment

About

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting over 100 million people in the United States alone. A consumer-friendly topical treatment that can be applied directly at the site of pain as a cream or gel patch, this invention has been shown to not only reduce OA associated pain, but also halt the onset of the disease. This technology uses the antibiotic myriocin to inhibit the production of a lipid molecule associated with osteoarthritic inflammation and cartilage breakdown called ceramide, effectively reducing cartilage cell death and preserving cartilage structural integrity. This novel combination of effective OA pain relief treatments, if commercialized, has the potential to provide patients with a safe and effective OA pain relief treatment, postpone the need to perform invasive surgery, and protect patients from the inherent negative side effects of current OA drug treatments. About the Market: Largely due to aging populations worldwide, the global OA treatment market is expected to grow at 7.6% CAGR over the next five years, reaching a market size of $5.9 billion by 2023. In recent years, healthcare professionals have habitually prescribed opioids, such as morphine, for OA associated 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. Each year, an estimated $75 billion is spent in health and social costs related to prescription opioid abuse. On an average day in the U.S., 78 people die from an opioid-related overdoses, and this has increased demand among patients and practitioners for alternative treatments such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s), which include such drugs as Celebrex, to target OA pain and inflammation. However, despite these drugs’ market success, these therapies have caused significant side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding and ulceration and even death. Consequently, topical pain relievers have recently become the most highly favored NSAID product category among consumers, creating an attractive market opportunity for licensees of this technology. Since a therapy using this technology can be topically applied directly to the site of pain, patients will avoid the risks of serious internal drug-related side effects and can expect to delay or even eliminate the eventual need for surgery to treat the disease, and licensees of this technology can expect to effectively meet current market demand for a safe and effective topical OA treatment.