Kirkstall is pleased to be a part of one of three winning consortia for the NC3Rs CRACK IT challenge: OsteoChip. Together with Cardiff University, University of York and Biogelx, the project aims to develop an in vitro model to recapitulate the human osteoarthritic joint.

There is an urgent need for relevant human models, especially considering the data:

• animal procedures investigating musculoskeletal diseases exceed 16,000 per year;
• 10% of all publications on osteoarthritis involve animals;
• pharmaceutical companies use more than 700 animals/year for osteoarthritis drug development;
• animal models do not recapitulate human osteoarthritis.

During this project, the partners will work together to create an in vitro culture system which incorporates mechanical loading in a 3D environment, in preparation for the application for Phase II.

Watch this space for updates!