Prospects for Osteoarthritis Treatment in Horses, and Potentially Humans

 inflammation and in restoring derailed chondrocytes from OA horses. Such restored cartilage cells began to produce more matrix molecules, which are important building blocks of cartilage tissue. This further strengthens the drug combinations’ potential to cure osteoarthritis," says Elisabeth Hansson, professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, who is one of the research leaders in the collaboration.

The research team has developed assays to screen horses’ synovial fluid from the joints and diagnose OA much earlier, i.e., even before the clinical indications of OA. This was indispensable for clinically testing the drug in horses. They have found two biomarkers that are elevated in both synovial fluid and blood in horses with OA.

These biomarkers (BGN262, which reflects subchondral bone degradation, and COMP156 which is associated with articular cartilage degradation in equine early OA) have been crucial in the development of the new drug treatment.

The current clinical study, published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open, uses these assay methods both to diagnose the disease and to measure the efficacy of the new drug treatment.

In Sweden, OA is the most common form of arthritis in humans, characterised by chronic pain and loss of mobility and affecting millions of people worldwide. Currently there is no cure for OA. Moreover, the available drugs on the market can only reduce pain and limit inflammation in the joint.

“Horses and humans are genetically very similar. Horses develop OA spontaneously, which makes the horse an excellent model for studies of OA in humans. Additionally, the biomarkers that were identified and evaluated in the clinical trial are identical in horses and humans. Therefore, the biomarkers and the analytical methods are equally relevant in human OA," says Skiöldebrand.

The research team has a patent for the new drug combination and aims to commercialize it as a licensed drug for horses with OA, starting in Sweden. They will now also seek authorization to conduct a clinical trial of the drug treatment in humans.