ADROIT – Arthroscopically-Deliverable Regenerative Osteochondral Implant Technology

Osteoarthritis (OA) the disease that this project targets, imposes massive burden on society not only in terms of loss of quality of life for the individual, but also in terms of costs – directly to the Health Services for their treatment and indirectly from loss of earnings and impact on their carers: and it is getting worse. Despite this, treatment is often only for symptoms such as pain until the disease has progressed far enough to warrant joint replacement surgery. There are some exciting new approaches to the early stages of this disease, in which the joint surface is regenerated and not replaced. However, today these require a surgical procedure in which the joint is fully opened. In this project the three partners (two SMEs: JRI and Spheritech, and University of Cambridge) will for the first time ever develop a biomaterial that can be implanted using ‘keyhole’ (arthroscopy) or open surgery, specifically to regrow the joint surface in the early-stages OA. The biomaterial, Proliferate® has been used successfully to regenerate many tissues already including, skin, liver and nerves. This project will give all the evidence needed to take it into the clinic, get a CE mark and start treating patients with OA early before total joint replacement is their only option.