CA22170 - TEndon Regeneration NETwork (TENET)

Musculoskeletal disorders/diseases are among the main causes of disability worldwide and are exacerbated by an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and ageing population. Among these, tendinopathies, account for 30-50% of musculoskeletal-related primary care visits worldwide. These diseases produce pain, swelling and restricted ranges of motion, and affect individuals across ages in their work and leisure time. The estimated costs to European Union healthcare systems are in excess of 800 M€ annually. Despite the impressive progress achieved on the development and translation of regenerative therapies for specific applications, major progress in designing and translating clinically-relevant advanced regenerative therapies for tendon is still missing. The lack of coordination and scattering of research and knowledge in the field of tendon mainly justifies the disappointing results attained so far.

The main aim of TENET Action is to create the TEndon regeneration NETwork, a scientific network of excellence mainly based in Europe integrating academics, research laboratories, clinicians, biotechnological companies, and regulatory bodies to foster the scientific and industrial capacity to develop, test and translate advanced regenerative therapies to promote tendon tissue regeneration and restoration of tendon function. This Action will bring together sufficient expertise and critical mass to produce an integrated, coordinated and multidisciplinary response to the challenges in the field. This will allow the full deployment of advanced regenerative therapies for tendon, not only to respond to open scientific questions, but more importantly to boost the clinical translation of these therapies in order to improve patient treatments and outcomes.