Osteoarthritis affects almost 21 million Americans aged 25 or older, and is most prevalent in the hand. The need for an alternative to long-term drug therapy for treating early stage hand OA is a vastly underserved market that Silicon Valley-based Articulinx Inc. hopes to address with its Intercarpometacarpal Cushion, a spacer device used to augment cartilage in the basal joint of the thumb.

Start-ups and investors are looking to address the large and growing gap between palliative treatment and major joint surgery for patients with cartilage damage in the knee, toes and hands - although the FDA is putting up more roadblocks than ever before. In this issue we profile Articulinx, Carticept Medical and Orthox.

This Month's Profile Group: Cartilage Repair: Opportunities In Motion-Preserving Orthopedics, features profiles of Articulinx, Carticept Medical and Orthox. Plus these Start-Ups Across Health Care: Ellipse Technologies, JDP Therapeutics, NuMe Health and SironRX Therapeutics.

Start-Up's monthly comprehensive review of emerging life science companies that have received venture funding during the month, including companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and research instrumentation and reagent sectors.