Merck and TissueGene will transform future osteoarthritis market, says analyst

The osteoarthritis space will experience seismic changes over the next decade, as disease-modifying drugs are expected to launch for the first time into a market currently dominated by a host of generic pain-relieving treatments, according to an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The late-stage development pipeline currently comprises two such drugs, namely USA-based TissueGene’s Invossa (TG-C; an allogeneic cell therapy) and Merck KGaA (MRJK: DE) subsidiary Merck Serono’s sprifermin, which are expected to launch in the USA in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Both drugs have shown evidence of slowing disease progression, and Invossa was also found to reduce osteoarthritis pain in trials.

As Lu Chen, GlobalData’s analyst covering immunology, explains: “Without disease-modifying modalities that slow or reverse the disease progression, many osteoarthritis patients eventually require joint replacement surgeries and may become disabled. Thus, the need for disease-modifying drugs for osteoarthritis is immense, particularly considering that the condition is a leading cause of disability in developed countries.”