Each athlete explained how Zilretta improved the quality of his life.
Rod Woodson
Rod Woodson played 17 seasons of NFL football, had 71 career interceptions (the third most on record) and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2009. He suffered ongoing chronic pain and retired in 2003. “I had five knee surgeries,” he stated. “It was one of the main reasons I retired.”
Woodson reflected, “As a human being you think I’m never going to get hurt—and if I do get hurt I’ll just fight through it. But when you live with it for over 15 years, you’re like, this is going to be a little thorn in my side that I can’t get rid of. This is one of those things that bothered me throughout my years…I finally found a solution.”
“When I got the shot and the treatment…I didn’t think it was going to work,” he said. In the coming weeks, he was surprised that he was able to walk for hours on a Grand Canyon trip with his wife, to play golf (“Normally around hole 14 my knee would just be in pain.”) and, more recently, to go for a run for the first time in 10 years.
“The one thing I love about Zilretta; it let me get back to my normal life,” said Woodson.
Chris Dickerson
Chris Dickerson played 15 seasons of professional baseball and retired in 2017 after years of chronic OA pain. “For a while there…it had a very significant effect,” he said. “It impacted me…every day I had to go and find solutions.” Dickerson a received Zilretta from his doctor. He said, “It really bothered me until I found a solution. Honestly it’s been a game changer for me.”
Dickerson said, for him, the pain decreased within several hours after the injection. Dickerson talked about how small things like helping at his child’s soccer game bring him happiness. “It’s been a tremendous help for me.”
Mike Eruzione
Mike Eruzione made the winning goal against the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympic games, noted as one of the most played highlights in American sports. It was voted the greatest highlight of all time by ESPN and was portrayed in the Disney film, “Miracle.”
After retiring from his hockey career, Eruzione remained active in competitive golf, playing baseball and generally being active. He said that OA pain increased and eventually affected daily activities such as climbing stairs or using a treadmill or bike. “It was a big change for me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”
“I wanted to be able to do the things I enjoy doing,” said Eruzione. He is now able to play with his grandchildren, snowblow after a storm, and play golf. Like the other athletes, he explained the importance of getting his everyday quality of life back.
Looking Forward
Dr. Richmond conducted the study of 180 patients and found evidence supportive of two doses for safe and effective treatment of osteoarthritic knee pain. Dr. Kelley said that he, himself, is currently conducting research utilizing MRI imaging to look at synovitis or inflammation of the knee in 100 athletes and how synovitis changes over time after treatment. Dr. Richmond and Dr. Kelley are interested in the way Zilretta targets drug delivery to the anatomy of the knee that drives pain.
Dr. Kelley also told OTW that Flexion looks forward to potential use of Zilretta for shoulder pain in the future. “There are just a lot of shoulder conditions in the United States. We’re a very active population. We do a lot of things with our arms and people are bothered by their shoulders. So, whether it’s osteoarthritis or this condition called frozen shoulder, we’re pretty hopeful that our treatment, based on the pharmacology, will have an impact there.”
“We have other things in our pipeline that will focus on bringing new, innovative treatments to both osteoarthritis and other areas of musculoskeletal,” Dr. Kelley said.
