©
SHUTTERSTOCK
Launched by the PROBE Consortium, PROBE (Patient Relevant Osteoarthritis endpoints using Big data Evaluation) is a pioneering initiative under the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU). This large-scale public-private partnership aims to revolutionise the way osteoarthritis (OA) is understood, diagnosed, and treated by developing patient-relevant endpoints, advanced predictive models, and next-generation clinical trial designs using federated big data and AI technologies.
Set to commence in December 2025 and run for 60 months, PROBE unites 38 partners from academia, industry, patient organisations, regulatory bodies, and healthcare professionals across Europe and beyond.
Associate Professor Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva, Senior Health Economist and head of the Health Economics and Outcomes Research group, and Professor Tonia Vincent, Associate Director of the Kennedy Institute and the Kennedy Trust Maini Feldmann Professor of Translational Musculoskeletal Science are leading the research for NDORMS.
'PROBE gives us an unprecedented opportunity to link deep biological insight with real-world impact. Together, our contributions aim to ensure that scientific breakthroughs translate into meaningful, sustainable benefits for patients', highlighted Rafael.
The project is jointly led by Erasmus MC Medical University Center and Novartis and embodies a strong public-private commitment to transforming evidence-based OA research and improving patient care and outcomes on a global scale.
PROBE will tackle the key limitations in OA clinical research and care, including disease heterogeneity, fragmented datasets, and outdated trial methodologies. By creating a secure federated learning infrastructure— where sensitive health data remain local while enabling large-scale AI-driven analyses—PROBE will leverage data from over 70 million individuals across multiple OA cohorts and real-world registries.
PROBE's vision aligns with ethical, legal, and regulatory standards from day one, ensuring compliance with GDPR and future-ready adoption under the AI Act and European Health Data Space.
'We are proud to coordinate this consortium, working together to achieve a significant advancement in osteoarthritis research. This project is not merely a standalone initiative with a few partners, but a joint effort by the key players in osteoarthritis research. It represents a forward-looking vision for the future of osteoarthritis research, aiming to improve treatment and long-term OA outcomes," said Sita Bierma-Zeinstra, Coordinator of the PROBE project and Lead of the Academic Consortium.
Key highlights of PROBE:
- Development of novel multimodal endpoints to support better treatment evaluation.
- Creation of a regulation-compliant federated OA database network.
- Use of foundation AI models to predict progression and support personalised medicine.
- Tools for shared decision-making between patients and healthcare providers.
- Strong engagement with patients, caregivers, regulators, HTA bodies, and clinicians.
Ultimately, PROBE aims to improve the lives of over 500 million patients suffering from OA globally by enabling earlier and more effective interventions, while reducing the cost and duration of clinical trials through more targeted and efficient design strategies.
'Big Data analytics in this public-private PROBE consortium will hopefully change how treatments can be developed for OA, a highly prevalent disease with enormous societal impact, by pivoting towards personalised approaches with AI-based phenotyping and prediction modelling leveraging on innovative digital twin approaches,' said Matthias Schieker, Co-Coordinator of PROBE and Lead of the Industry Consortium.
This project is supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU) under Grant Agreement No. 101219324. The JU receives support from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and COCIR, EFPIA, EuropaBio, MedTech Europe, Vaccines Europe, and Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Capgemini Consulting and Nordic Bioscience Clinical Development A/S.i