At the ACR Convergence 2025 in Chicago, Dr. Richard F. Loeser Jr. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gave the Oscar Gluck Memorial Lecture. He discussed recent research on developing disease-modifying drugs for osteoarthritis (OA). OA affects over 500 million people worldwide. Its prevalence is increasing due to an aging population and higher obesity rates. Dr. Loeser noted that more knee and hip replacement surgeries are being performed because there are no effective drugs to slow or stop OA progression.
Current OA treatments focus on nonpharmacological methods such as exercise, weight loss, and self-management. For pain relief, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are most commonly used. Other drug options have not shown significant benefits. Dr. Loeser stated that supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate have not proven effective. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) does not recommend routine use of growth factors, cell-based injections, or platelet-rich plasma outside clinical trials.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently classified OA as a serious disease. This change may speed up the approval process for new drugs. It could also encourage more investment in OA research and development…