The Netwoark: Midterm of an Exciting Initiative in Osteoarthritis

NetwOArk is a consortium founded under the framework of the COST Action CA21110 “Building an open European Network on Osteoarthritis research“, aiming to contribute to the progress of osteoarthritis research and translation to clinics, by uniting the relevant stakeholders under one umbrella. These stakeholders are researchers, clinicians, industry and especially also the patients and patient organizations. NetwOArk is convinced that an intensive exchange of all these interest groups is key for successful development and implementation of novel therapies. NetwOArk is structured in four working groups, focusing on patient engagement & information (WG1), translational aspects (WG2), patient stratification (WG3) and the preparation of the future of NetwOArk after ending of the COST Action program (WG4) The four working groups achieved the following goals within the last grant periods: WG 1collected data from almost 600 people on the survey about patients' knowledge of OA and their treatment options. WG 2 organized a series of webinars on translational aspects of drugs and management of osteoarthritis as well as a symposium on integrated care in osteoarthritis management and prepared manuscripts on translational topics such as in vitro and ex vivo models. WG 3 submitted two manuscripts focused on OA stratification terminology from clinical and molecular perspectives. WG 4 founded the European Patient Council (EPC) during a meeting in Umhausen Tyrol/Austria with patient organizations of four countries, extending to 11 countries by the beginning of 2025. Eleven Short Term Scientific Missions (STSM) were awarded to young investigators to conducted research at partner laboratories. All those activities will be followed up in the current and upcoming grant periods and the COST Action CA21110 is still open for potential new members who want to actively contribute to those activities.