The University of Oxford has joined a collaboration with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), in support of its Capture the Fracture programme. Together with Amgen, and UCB, their goal is to reduce hip and vertebral fractures by 25% by 2025.
The team from NDORMS; Professor Cyrus Cooper, Dr. Kassim Javaid, and Dr. Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva, bring their collective experience to address the challenge of an estimated 200 million people worldwide suffering from osteoporosis, resulting in an osteoporosis-related fracture every three seconds.
Osteoporosis is a serious chronic condition that weakens bones over time, making them thinner and more likely to break, but there are steps patients and healthcare providers can take to reduce fracture risk. Capture the Fracture is a global programme that helps to proactively implement post-fracture care (PFC) coordination programs in hospitals and healthcare systems to help patients prevent subsequent fractures due to osteoporosis. Even after an osteoporosis-related fracture approximately 80% of individuals at high risk are still not identified or treated.
"We are currently witnessing a significant disease burden. As the worldwide aging population steadily increases, it has never been more important to address the impact that osteoporosis and associated fractures can have on individuals," said professor Cyrus Cooper, President of the International Osteoporosis Foundation and Professor of Musculoskeletal Science at NDORMS, Oxford.
"Osteoporosis remains a global concern, resulting in 8.9 million fractures in a single year and a previous fracture increases the risk of another osteoporosis-related fracture by 86%. Early intervention through improved post-fracture identification, diagnosis and treatment in appropriate patients can help improve outcomes while also lessening the cost burden on healthcare systems," said Darryl Sleep, M.D., senior vice president of Global Medical and chief medical officer at Amgen.
"Capture the Fracture is an incredible opportunity to take the academic skills and expertise from the University to deliver real improvements in patient care for osteoporosis," said Dr. Kassim Javaid, associate professor at NDORMS, who has led one of the largest Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) providing post-fracture care in Oxford over the last 10 years. Established to identify patients with 'fragility fractures', FLS' provide osteoporosis treatments and services to improve bone health and reduce the risk of further fractures.
Dr. Javaid, along with Dr. Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva, will be responsible for a mentorship program to teach other health providers globally to run PFCs. They are also developing a care pathway and benefits calculator tool for the PFC program. "We hope that through this program millions of lives will be changed and we look forward to working with national and international colleagues to deliver this vision," Dr Javaid commented.
The partnership aims to double the 390 existing Capture the Fracture programs by the end of 2022, and will focus on key regions including Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe.
"We know post-fracture coordinated care implementation is the most effective and efficient intervention to close the secondary fracture prevention gap, so I'm delighted that Amgen, UCB and the University of Oxford will support our Capture the Fracture program as we embark on a mission to improve outcomes for patients," said IOF chief executive officer, Dr. Philippe Halbout.
