Arthritis Australia and the Australian Rheumatology Association made a submission to the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s review of regulatory arrangments for treatments which use a person’s own cells or tissues. Our interest in this area relates in particular to the use of stem cell therapies to treat osteoarthritis, which we recommend should be subject to much more stringent regulation.
Currently, there are no disease-modifying therapies that have a credible evidence base for osteoarthritis, so we welcome and strongly support research into treatment and prevention strategies to alleviate the burden of this condition.
Autologous stem cell therapies offer great promise as a potential treatment for osteoarthritis, but at present the evidence base is inadequate to support their use for this condition. Current research is still in its early stages and understanding of the efficacy and safety of these therapies is limited. Further research, through properly conducted randomised controlled clinical trials, is essential to determine the therapeutic role and safety of stem cell treatments for osteoarthritis.