Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc. and Unigene Laboratories, Inc. reported preclinical data showing that calcitonin may have synergistic effects in combination with other drugs in reducing the collagen degradation associated with osteoarthritis. The data are being presented at the 2010 Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress in Brussels, Belgium. Unigene produces Fortical® nasal calcitonin product for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and Tarsa’s oral calcitonin is in a Phase III trial for the treatment of osteoporosis.

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Researchers at New York University have developed an innovative way to look at the development of osteoarthritis in the knee joint – one that relies on the examination of sodium ions in cartilage. Their work, which appears in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance, may provide a non-invasive method to diagnose osteoarthritis in its very early stages. The concentration of sodium ions, which are distributed in the body, is known to reveal the location of glycosaminogycans (GAGs) in cartilage tissues.

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Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center determined patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee who are treated with traditional Chinese acupuncture (TCA) do not experience any more benefit than those receiving sham acupuncture (placebo). The team did find that the communication style of the acupuncturist could have a significant effect on pain reduction and satisfaction in patients. Full findings are now online and will publish in the September print issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

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Unigene Laboratories, Inc. announced that Novartis and its license partner Nordic Bioscience have decided to continue the companies’ two-year, Phase III Study 2302 assessing safety of oral calcitonin in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Novartis has a worldwide license to produce recombinant calcitonin under Unigene’s patented SecraPep® E. coli manufacturing technology. An independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) reviewed and conducted a “futility” analysis of one-year data for all patients enrolled in Study 2302.

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Winston Laboratories, Inc. has announced that it has received Notice of Compliance (NOC) from the Therapeutics Drug Directorate, Health Canada for its New Drug Submission (NDS) for CIVANEX ™ (zucapsaicin cream 0.075%) for the , treatment of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis. Since there is no systemic absorption of civamide, CIVANEX™ can be administered in combination with other systemic pain relief medications.

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Pfizer Inc. has announced the suspension of the osteoarthritis clinical program for the investigational compound tanezumab following a request by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The worldwide suspension which is effective immediately follows a small number of reports of tanezumab patients experiencing the worsening of osteoarthritis leading to joint replacement. To date, this adverse event has not been observed in non-osteoarthritis patient populations taking tanezumab.

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AstraZeneca and Pozen have submitted a marketing authorization application or MAA in the EU via the decentralized procedure for Vimovo tablets, a product under investigation for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in patients who are at risk of developing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-associated ulcers. Vimovo is a fixed-dose combination of enteric coated naproxen and immediate release esomeprazole under co-development by AstraZeneca and Pozen.

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A recent study, conducted by researchers at University of Rochester Medical Center and presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Denver, indicated that a drug already approved to heal bone loss from osteoporosis may also help to prevent and reverse the damage to cartilage that leads to osteoarthritis. Currently, there are no drugs to treat cartilage loss in osteoarthritis, a condition that’s expected to affect some 50 million Americans by 2020. Parathyroid hormone, sold as the prescription drug teriparatide (Forteo), is already approved by the FDA to maintain and heal bone, and earlier studies have suggested that it also affects cartilage cells.