Although several factors have recently slowed growth in the US market for joint fluid replacement, it remains large and vastly underpenetrated with an estimated 15.8 million knee osteoarthritis patients who are hoping to delay the need for a total knee arthroplasty. With a growing number of products in the pipeline and increasing adoption of new single-injection products, the US joint fluid market is projected to increase from approximately $924.4 million in 2015 to more than $1.07 billion by 2019, a CAGR of 4%.

Researchers have been working for years to develop a reliable and cost-effective means of regenerating the hyaline cartilage found in the knee, with the aim of offering a minimally invasive treatment option for the millions of patients with painful knee osteoarthritis. Although this goal has been elusive so far, recent progress suggests the field may have turned a corner, and a large number of companies are now competing to win this quest, which many refer to as the “Holy Grail” of knee OA.

While Zimmer continues to build its knee osteoarthritis early-intervention product line, most recently by acquiring Knee Creations LLC and its Subchondroplasty procedure, controversial new clinical practice guidelines have been released that recommend against the use of hyaluronic acid injections (viscosupplementation) for early knee OA.