Orthogen AG, the German biotech-company, has offered an alternative by presenting the results of a new osteoarthritis trial with Orthokine.

Orthogen CEO Prof. MD. Peter Wehling in Dusseldorf/North-Rhine-Westfalia, said that the Orthokine-therapy is safe and effective and clinical results suggest it is far superior to those achieved using standard hyaluronic acid injection therapy and placebo.

From News-Medical.Net:

Ten to 20 percent of the population of western countries suffers from joint and spinal disorders. The therapies for these disorders are most expensive after circulatory and digestive diseases with a high market potential. According to official government statistics, orthopedic disorders cost EUR25 billion annually in Germany alone and approximately one-third of this amount is accounted by osteoarthritis. For many years now, musculoskeletal disorders have been the number one cause of work disability and the consequent economic loss in Germany.

“The problem with conventional OA-therapies such as painkillers, steroids and hyaluronic acid is that they act on the symptoms but leave the underlying causes of the disease untouched,” said Wehling, specialized in the role of cytokines in pain inhibition and tissue regeneration. In contrast Orthokine acts on the causal mechanism of arthritis and prevents further cartilage degeneration in the joints. “Orthokine could potentially become the new standard arthritis therapy,” Wehling said. Pharmacology experts also regard biologicals as the medications of the future.

The trial included 400 Patients and was realized in conformity with the international standards from Heinrich-Heine-University (Dusseldorf).