Galapagos, Calchan Share Grant To Research Osteoarthritis

Innovate U.K. has awarded a $3.9 million grant for a new collaboration between Galapagos and Calchan, through which both parties will identify and develop new drug candidates to treat osteoarthritic pain.

Calchan, a U.K.-based company, has been developing new drug candidates based on calcium ion channel modulators. Such treatments influence neurotransmitters to regulate the influx of calcium into individual cells.

Current relief for osteoarthritic pain is limited to acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs, in particular, when used over a long period of time for chronic pain can cause liver damage. In the best of cases, these treatments only address the symptoms and not the underlying cause. They certainly do not halt the progression of the degenerative disease.

In these more severe cases, a patient might elect to undergo surgery (knee-replacement) or other invasive procedures, which are high risk, especially in older patients.

Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos, a company with a history of osteoarthritis research acknowledges that “pain in osteoarthritis remains a major unmet medical need.”

In recent years, scientists have begun to understand osteoarthritis better than they have before as a disease that affects the entire joint. Dr. Antonios Aliprantis, director of the Osteoarthritis Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard University, comments, “Much of the research over the last 20-30 years has focused on cartilage as a target. But we’re beginning to realize that there are important changes happening in the bone underneath the cartilage.”

According to the National Institute of Health, there are many different avenues of research into osteoarthritis, including tissue engineering, ways of detecting osteoarthritis earlier, genetic research, and the possibility of stem cell-based treatments.

Innovate U.K. funds companies pursuing research and development in technology of a wide variety of different fields. According to Innovate U.K.’s website, the organization has committed $130 million to medical research this year.

According to Brenda Reynolds, director of Calchan, this is the second competitive grant that the company has received from Innovate U.K.