Effect studies of stem cells- and drug-treatment with monitoring of biomarkers for arthritis.

Purpose and goal:

The project aims to develop a new treatment for osteoarthritis (OA), a common joint disease that causes chronic pain and reduced quality of life globally. Currently, effective medication for OA is lacking, and early diagnosis remains challenging due to the absence of specific biomarkers. To address these challenges, the project will conduct a concept study for new potential treatments and validate novel biomarkers for early diagnosis,

Expected results and effects:

The expected outcome of the project includes significant societal benefits in the form of reduced healthcare costs, increased work capacity and productivity, fewer sick leaves, effective treatment, reduced rehabilitation and long-term care costs, as well as improved quality of life and reduced need for pain relief for the patients.

Approach and implementation:

The project consists of 4 work packages where WP1 focuses on business development for the developed treatments and biomarkers, WP2 on the development and validation of treatments and markers in the laboratory, WP3 on functional and safety evaluation of treatments and markers in an animal model for arthritis, and WP4 on project management and dissemination of results.