Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of chronic pain worldwide, and treatment strategies that can slow disease progression and manage pain are lacking. A new paper reports that a nanoparticle-based formulation of pazopanib, which inhibits VEGFR1 and VEGFR2, shows promise as a disease-modifying drug for OA.

In patients with OA, increased VEGF levels and the formation of new blood vessels in joints are both associated with joint pain, and inhibition of VEGF signalling can slow OA progression. “Our previous studies revealed the distinct roles of VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 in which VEGFR1 is involved in pain transmission and VEGFR2 is associated with cartilage degeneration, identifying these receptors as disease-modifying drug targets,” says Hee-Jeong Im, an author on the new study. “Pazopanib, an FDA-approved cancer drug, is a small-molecule inhibitor of both VEGFR1 and VEGFR2, making it an ideal drug candidate for OA treatment.”