Team:Greece United/Entrepreneurship/MarketAnalysis
Market Analysis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal condition worldwide with a prevalence of 9.6% in men and 18% in women over 60 years of age. One estimate of the lifetime risk of developing symptomatic knee OA was approximately 40 percent in men and 47 percent in women.
Although it is a condition associated with advanced age, it can occur in children and young adults.
The age-standardized prevalence of radiographically confirmed symptomatic knee OA has been estimated
at 3.8% globally, with rates being higher in women (4.8%) compared with men (2.8%). Knee OA accounts
for approximately 80% of the disease's total burden.
United States data from 2007 to 2008 report 7% of adults over 25 as having symptomatic knee OA. In
2010, more than 55,000 cartilage replacement surgeries were performed in the United States, with 48%
of patients over the age of 65.
Osteoarthritis prevalence rises as the years go by. A study has shown that between the years 1990 to
2019, in European countries there is an average increase of 45% in the numbers of patients with
Osteoarthritis (see the diagram below). At the same time, in a 2013 report, the World Health
Organization, states: “The prevalence of OA is increasing due to population ageing and an increase
in related factors such as obesity. According to the United Nations, by 2050 people aged over 60
will account for more than 20% of the world’s population. Of that 20%, a conservative estimate of
15% will have symptomatic OA, and one-third of these people will be severely disabled. This means
that by 2050, 130 million people will suffer from OA worldwide, of whom 40 million will be severely
disabled by the disease. Costs associated with OA include costs for adaptive aids and devices,
medicines, surgery, and time off at work.
Overall, OA caused about 2 million years lived with disability (YLDs) in Western Europe in 2019, a
36% increase since 1990.
EPIONE is expected to be of interest both to patients themselves and to organizations with an
explicit or implicit goal to advance wellbeing and thus reduce healthcare costs.
The main competitive advantages of Epione method compared to the existing methods is the efficiency
of the treatment combined with the non-invasiveness and the envisaged lack of side effects.
It is important to identify the people who are involved in a project, its stakeholders, and map their interest and power. This way crucial stakeholders’ needs are met and they can also get involved in the decision-making process and provide support for the long-term sustainability of the project.
The overall economic burden associated with OA in the US is estimated at $136.8 billion annually. This number is not exclusive to the US as osteoarthritis has a global impact as analysed above. For perspective, the annual economic cost of arthritis surpasses that of tobacco related health effects, cancer and diabetes.
References
1. D. J. Hunter, L. March, and M. Chew, Osteoarthritis in 2020 and beyond: A lancet commission, The Lancet, vol. 396, no. 10264, pp. 1711–1712, 2020.
2. Osteoarthritis prevalence and burden. Osteoarthritis Action Alliance, 23-Dec-2019.
3. Lodato, E.K. et al (2013). Priority Medicines for Europe and the World: 2013 Update Report.
4. Osteoarthritis in Europe: Pfizer & The Economist Intelligence Unit. Pfizer. Osteoarthritis in Europe.
5. “Osteoarthritis therapeutics market size, opportunities ...,” Verified Market Research, Aug-2021