URMC research shows Lilly's Forteo could extend life of arthritic joints

A drug already approved to build bone mass in patients with osteoporosis also builds cartilage around joints and could potentially be repurposed to treat millions of people suffering from arthritis, according to orthopedic research at the University of Rochester Medical Center, USA, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Arthritis Foundation.

The study authors hope their laboratory findings, published in the current issue of Science Translational Medicine, will set the stage for the first human clinical trials to test human parathyroid hormone teriparatide) in this growing patient population. The drug is marketed by US drug major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) under the brand name Forteo and generating second-quarter 2011 sales of $231 million.

Since 2005, arthritis has been ranked as the leading cause of disability in the USA by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, by 2030, an estimated 67 million people, or 25% of the adult population in this country will have osteoarthritis (OA), a painful, degenerative joint disease that often begins with an injury and results in the progressive loss of cartilage. Current treatments for OA do not help improve the cartilage in the diseased joint, they only make the pain more bearable. Examples include oral anti-inflammatory agents (such as Advil or Naproxen), narcotics, or steroid injections into the affected joint. Surgical replacement of the joint and cartilage is usually required, although this major intervention often carries its own set of complications.