When the Body Alone Can't Build Bone
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Orthobiologics are now on the horizon, driving suppliers to increase R&D spending. The goal is to develop high-margin products that will actively promote bone formation. Has the slow progress to commercialization of the first two products--bone morphogenic proteins developed by the collaborations of Stryker Corp/Creative Biomolecules and Genetics Institute/Sofamor Danek--helped prime the market to accept a new technology? Or has the perception of delay dampened enthusiasm and scared off some of the big orthopedics players?
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The field of bone disease, particularly age-related bone diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, is a large and growing one as the global population increases and ages. The available treatment options tend to target the alleviation of symptoms rather than modifying the disease process itself. In other words, there's a high unmet medical need to identify a novel class of drug that could slow down the progression or even reverse the process of bone and cartilage degeneration. Arcarios BV aims to meet this need by using its proprietary technology platforms to discover and develop innovative drugs that will restore cartilage and bone.
A Last Gasp for Stryker with OP-1? Not Likely.
Few were surprised when an FDA advisory panel recommended against approving Stryker's OP-1 device for spinal fusion. Plus, given the recent focus on off-label use of orthobiologics, OP-1 was not likely to displace its only competitor, InFuse. That said, the off label issue may well influence the future of OP-1 as Stryker contemplates whether and how to retool clinical development.
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