Angry@Arthritis Launches Global Osteoarthritis Clinical Trial Locator

Angry@Arthritis, a nonprofit focused on attacking and eliminating Osteoarthritis (OA), has launched its OA Fix-Trials in the Mix, a global OA developmental treatment analysis and clinical trial locator.

Today, there is no cure or FDA-approved treatment for OA, which is the third most common disability in the U.S. It afflicts one in seven Americans – more than 32 million people. The disease levies a $136 billion annual burden on the U.S. economy.

Designed to empower patients and developers with new insights, the free interactive chart shows viable OA treatments in development, joints where those treatments apply, associated procedure, position in the clinical trial process, and geography (U.S. or overseas). Patients use a single go-to screen to sign up for clinical trials.

Developed by Angry@Arthritis, the chart is the product of 18 months of due diligence, including extensive research and face-to-face meetings with global research and clinical OA experts.

Jason Kim, PhD, vice president of OA research at the Arthritis Foundation, said, “The OA Fix chart is a great start to the fantastic new resource for the OA community. It provides a regularly-updated and consolidated view of promising OA treatments – which would be an easy way for patients to gain visibility and access clinical trials as well."

Leigh Callahan, PhD, director at the Osteoarthritis Alliance, said, “Currently available medicines and behavioral strategies only help people with OA manage symptoms such as pain and functional limitations. It would be a game changer if we had a disease modifying treatment for OA. Angry@Arthritis and the OA Fix provide a snapshot of upcoming treatments for more than 32 million Americans with OA.”

A statement from Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), noted: “ARPA-H NITRO, with its mission to eliminate osteoarthritis within five years, is a testament to the power and necessity of government-funded research and development. As those efforts continue, it’s on all of us to ensure Americans struggling with OA are aware of upcoming and potential treatment options. OA Fix will go a long way toward educating and empowering the OA community.”

Angry@Arthritis timed the release of this first OA clinical trial market map with the launch of the new Federal government OA Cure moonshot. In May, the Advanced Project Research Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced its Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis (NITRO) program to cure OA. NITRO funding is speculated at more than $1 billion dollars – and the program’s goal is to eliminate OA in five years.

Steve O’Keeffe, founder of Angry@Arthritis, commented, “As a patient with OA in multiple joints, I wanted to know more about the most viable developmental cures on the horizon, which treatments might work for the joints where I have the disease, and further, how I can sign up for clinical trials. I couldn’t find it – respectfully, clinicaltrials.gov is impossible to navigate – so, we decided to create that OA treasure map – the OA Fix.” O’Keeffe added that he applauds ARPA-H NITRO, because as we accelerate to a cure, we need to understand the existing OA treatments in development, evaluate their merits, and find a way to accelerate the clinical trial process.

Angry@Arthritis is a new 501c3 focused on attacking and eliminating osteoarthritis. We provide the patient’s guide to OA, raise money to fund new cures, and advocate for OA to the U.S. Congress. Visit us at Angry@Arthritis.org.

Reference: Angry@Arthritis Launches 1st Global Osteoarthritis Clinical Trial Locator, July 18, 2023. Alexandria, Va.