Gene Therapy at the “Forefront” for Musculoskeletal disorders!

About Musculoskeletal disorders

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or pain in the body’s joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and structures that support limbs, neck and back. MSDs are degenerative diseases and inflammatory conditions that cause pain and impair normal activities. They can affect many different parts of the body including upper and lower back, neck, shoulders and extremities (arms, legs, feet, and hands).

Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States and account for more than one-half of all chronic conditions in people over 50 years of age in developed countries with one in every two adults reporting a musculoskeletal condition requiring medical attention. The economic impact of these conditions is also staggering costing billion dollars annually comprising of direct expenditures in health care costs and the indirect expenditures in lost wages. However, the rapid progress in our understanding of some of the molecular mechanisms involved in the bone regeneration has revolutionized the clinical management of many bone and musculoskeletal disorders.

Gene Therapy: Role in Musculoskeletal disorders

Gene therapy has made remarkable progress in the field of musculoskeletal system. Since the introduction of this concept much of the preclinical and clinical data have emerged. The most promising area of research in this field is the tissue repair, because it doesn’t require prolonged period of gene expression, local delivery is reasonably simple and it avoids substantial risk associated with systemic delivery, and levels of gene expression don’t need to be so finely regulated. Gene transfer is successfully being used to aid the repair and regeneration of bone, cartilage, ligament tendon, meniscus and intervertebral disc. Other potential applications of gene therapy in musculoskeletal system include osteoporosis, aseptic loosening, genetic diseases and tumors. Highly encouraging data gained from these studies have confirmed that gene therapy is a promising therapeutic solution to treat various musculoskeletal system disorders.

Gene Therapy: The Market Scenario

A new biologic era of orthopaedic surgery has been initiated by basic scientific advances that have resulted in the development of gene therapy approaches for treating musculoskeletal disorders. This is evident from the large no. of companies such as Avexis, Sylentis S.A. etc. which are operating in the field of musculoskeletal disorders in the gene therapy domain. Many companies have started investing in and researching on gene therapy as it has the potential to transform many areas of musculoskeletal care, leading to treatments that are less invasive, more effective, and less expensive than existing modalities. Moreover, extensive laboratory investigations and preliminary clinical investigations have established the feasibility and promise of gene therapy.

DelveInsight’s Gene Therapy Reports

DelveInsight’s Gene Therapy Reports cover the entire gene therapy market insights for musculoskeletal disorders including technology assessments, licensing opportunities, collaborations, market trends, pipeline coverage and competitive landscape. The report essentially provides DelveInsight’s proprietary market and pipeline analytics which identifies the front runners in this therapeutic area. It also identifies the potential market movers and future regulatory landscape.