Osteoarthritis drugs in development

Researchers are working to better understand what causes osteoarthritis and how its signs and symptoms can be relieved. There's still no cure. But new drugs are being developed. One day they may help relieve osteoarthritis pain and halt the joint damage caused by the disease.

Though many drugs are available for osteoarthritis, many cause side effects. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), for example, carry a risk of stomach bleeding. Scientists continue to look for new medications that effectively relieve the pain of osteoarthritis without causing new problems. Research into new treatments for osteoarthritis falls into several areas:

New drugs for pain relief:

Researchers looking into new drugs for relief of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis are searching for options that offer fewer side effects, including:
- LOX/COX inhibitors. These drugs block the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme that's involved in joint inflammation, much like NSAIDs do. But LOX/COX inhibitors also block the lipoxygenase (LOX) enzyme, reducing the risk of gastrointestinal side effects, such as stomach bleeding. These drugs may prove to be as effective as and safer than COX-2 inhibitors and traditional NSAIDs.
- Topical NSAIDs. Putting traditional NSAIDs into a cream to be applied to your skin could mean less damage to your gastrointestinal tract. Small short-term studies have found some benefit to topical NSAIDs.


Antibiotics

Antibiotics are traditionally used to fight infections. It's now known that antibiotics can also decrease inflammation. Osteoarthritis isn't believed to be caused by infection, but researchers hope antibiotics will work to reduce the joint swelling that's common in osteoarthritis. Tests on animals showed that antibiotics had some benefit. Researchers are now experimenting with antibiotic therapy in people who have osteoarthritis.

Modifying cartilage

The cartilage that protects your joints and allows them to move smoothly can be damaged by osteoarthritis. Researchers hope that altering the makeup of your cartilage might stop the damage or prevent it from occurring. Researchers are examining two ways of altering the cartilage in your joints:

Injections.
Injecting a gel and liquid compound into the joint — a process called visco-supplementation — might protect the joint by cushioning it and allowing it to move more freely. The process has been approved for use in people with osteoarthritis of the knee and is being researched for use in other joints. Visco-supplementation is usually reserved for people for whom other pain relief methods haven't worked.

Supplements.
Researchers have found two substances that play a role in joint repair and protection. Glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate — available over-the-counter as dietary supplements — have both shown some benefit in clinical trials, though the reliability of some studies has been questioned. Both glucosamine and chondroitin occur naturally in cartilage. Supplementing your own cartilage with artificially made substances could offer some joint protection, but more research is needed. The National Institutes of Health is conducting trials.


Gene therapy

Researchers hope that targeting certain genes in your body might influence cells in your joints to reduce inflammation and joint damage. One way to do this might be to block the action of damaging genes. Another way might be to replace the damaging genes with genes that would reverse joint damage. One roadblock to gene therapy is finding a way to deliver the genes to the body. Gene therapy for osteoarthritis is still in the very early stages, though some animal research has shown promise.


Drug development and approval:

Long waits, no guarantees

It takes many years to develop new drugs. Beyond proving they work, researchers must prove they're safe for people to use. It's encouraging to look ahead to treatments that may one day make treating osteoarthritis safer and more efficient. But know that some of these experimental drugs could take years to win approval and others may never make it to the market. In the meantime, talk with your doctor about what you can do to make the most of the treatments available to you now.

You can check the pharmaceutical pipeline of Bulresearch

http://www.chartsbank.com/PipelineList.aspx

to find out which current therapies are being developed