PROTO

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis worldwide. Chronic low-grade inflammation in the articular environment causes cartilage degeneration at an early disease stage, resulting in chronic pain, disability and loss of independence due to progressive joint destruction. To date, no treatment is available to sustainably combat low-grade inflammation in early-stage OA patients. Biomechanical causes for intra-articular inflammation and OA development have been detected in specific patient groups. The PROTO consortium strives to implement new evidence- and patient-centred treatment strategies for early- and pre-disease stages. For the first time, early-stage knee OA patients will be treated with local PLX-PAD injections, a novel allogeneic cell therapy product with distinct anti-inflammatory capacities that may halt or revert disease progression. Secondly, patients recovering from anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions with pathological gait patterns leading to knee OA, will be treated with a personalized sensor-based digital training intervention. We intend to prevent health to disease transition by restoring physiological movement and reducing joint inflammation. To assess treatment success in early- and pre-stage OA, PROTO gathers scientific and clinical specialists who have genuinely shaped clinical, radiological and biomarker outcome parameters for OA in recent years. This will be the first time that these renowned experts join forces to analyze, stratify and compare fundamentally novel disease modifying treatment strategies for OA in one consortium. PROTO was developed with the help of patient organizations, industry partners and research societies. Restoring physiological joint homeostasis at an early disease stage may be the key to understanding health to disease progression in OA. Targeting this ‘window of opportunity’ will fundamentally change the way OA is treated today and in the future.