What's next in orthopedics — October 15, 2026

This issue covers five milestones with official dates between November 2026 and late April 2027: two pending FDA decisions (an oral drug for achondroplasia and an amniotic tissue biologic for knee osteoarthritis pain) and three specialty meetings. The knee osteoarthritis decision falls a few days past our usual six-month window; we include it because of its weight in everyday practice. PDUFA dates are review target dates, not approvals: the agency may extend the review or issue a complete response letter.

1. AAHKS 2026 Annual Meeting (hip and knee)

[Congress] [USA] [Confirmed date: November 5, 2026]
What it is: Annual meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), November 5–8, 2026, at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, in the Dallas area (Texas), the reference forum for primary and revision arthroplasty.
What problem it solves: Each year it gathers new data on periprosthetic infection, outpatient surgery, analgesia, thromboprophylaxis and technology (robotics, navigation), areas where practice still varies widely between centers.
Critical take: Much of what is presented comes from retrospective or single-center series, often with industry involvement; wait for peer-reviewed publication before changing protocols.
https://meeting.aahks.org/

2. Oral infigratinib for children with achondroplasia

[Pending regulatory decision] [USA] [Confirmed date: February 4, 2027]
What it is: A once-daily oral FGFR1-3 inhibitor versus placebo in children aged 3 to under 18 years with achondroplasia (PROPEL 3, phase 3, double-blind, NCT06164951); primary endpoint: change in annualized height velocity at 52 weeks, with a least-squares mean difference of +1.74 cm/year (p<0.0001) and improved height Z-score. The FDA accepted the application with priority review (announced by BridgeBio on October 6, 2026); an EMA filing is planned for Q4 2026.
What problem it solves: Currently approved therapies (C-type natriuretic peptide analogues: daily vosoritide and weekly navepegritide) are subcutaneous injections; an oral option would reduce treatment burden over years of growth.
Critical take: Company sponsored, with a surrogate endpoint (growth velocity); there are no data yet on final adult height, fewer spine or limb surgeries, or foramen magnum compression, and cost and access in our setting will be a barrier.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/06/3375352/0/en/bridgebio-announces-fda-acceptance-and-priority-review-of-nda-for-oral-infigratinib-for-children-with-achondroplasia.html
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06164951

3. AAOS 2027 Annual Meeting

[Congress] [USA] [Confirmed date: March 3, 2027]
What it is: Annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, March 3–6, 2027, at the Venetian Convention & Expo Center in Las Vegas; Saturday the 6th is devoted to subspecialty society programs.
What problem it solves: It is the annual meeting of the US specialty academy: education sessions and the exhibit hall from Wednesday to Friday, and specialty society programs on Saturday.
Critical take: The volume of abstracts is huge and uneven in quality; what is useful for our practice is usually what is later published in full, not the meeting press release.
https://www.aaos.org/annual/attend/schedule/

4. World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2027)

[Congress] [Europe (Austria)] [Confirmed date: April 8, 2027]
What it is: Joint congress of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and ESCEO, April 8–11, 2027, at the VIECON Center in Vienna.
What problem it solves: It brings together data on secondary prevention of fragility fractures, fracture liaison services and treatments for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, a field where many patients with a fragility fracture still receive no osteoporosis treatment after discharge.
Critical take: Strong pharmaceutical industry presence; results presented are often preliminary and not all apply to lower-resource health systems.
https://www.wco-iof-esceo.org/sites/wco_27/promotional/2027/WCO27-affiche.pdf

5. Intra-articular amniotic allograft (ReNu, azimplacel) for knee osteoarthritis pain

[Pending regulatory decision] [USA] [Confirmed date: April 24, 2027]
What it is: A cryopreserved amniotic suspension allograft given as a single intra-articular injection, versus saline, for pain in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis; the FDA accepted the biologics license application (BLA), as announced by Organogenesis on July 6, 2026. The second phase 3 trial (double-blind, saline-controlled; n=594) missed its primary endpoint, WOMAC pain reduction at 6 months (difference −0.51; one-sided p=0.0393 against a 0.023 threshold); the first phase 3 was positive (−0.72; one-sided p=0.0177), and the company announced it would use the combined efficacy analysis of both to support the filing.
What problem it solves: For knee osteoarthritis pain that does not respond to exercise, weight loss and analgesics, available injections (corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid) give modest or short-lived relief, and many "regenerative" products are used today without approval or solid evidence.
Critical take: Company sponsorship, one phase 3 negative on its primary endpoint, a saline comparator (which produces a large placebo effect in osteoarthritis) and small absolute WOMAC differences; approval would not validate other amniotic tissue products marketed without trials.
https://organogenesis.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/organogenesis-announces-fda-acceptance-biologics-license
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/09/25/3156738/0/en/Organogenesis-Provides-Update-on-Second-Phase-3-ReNu-Study.html

*What's next in orthopedics — October 15, 2026*

Five milestones with official dates (FDA dates are target dates, not approvals):

• Nov 5–8: AAHKS annual meeting (hip and knee), Dallas
• Feb 4: FDA decision on oral infigratinib for children with achondroplasia (+1.74 cm/year in growth velocity vs placebo)
• Mar 3–6: AAOS 2027 annual meeting, Las Vegas
• Apr 8–11: WCO-IOF-ESCEO world congress (osteoporosis and osteoarthritis), Vienna
• Apr 24: FDA decision on ReNu, intra-articular amniotic allograft for knee osteoarthritis pain (one positive and one negative phase 3)

Full text and audio: https://boletinesmedicos.com/en/orthopedics/2026-10-15-viene.html
MedBulletins · boletinesmedicos.com

What's next in orthopedics (November 2026 to April 2027), with an official source for every date:

1. Nov 5–8 — AAHKS annual meeting (hip and knee arthroplasty).
2. Feb 4 — FDA decision on oral infigratinib in achondroplasia (PROPEL 3: +1.74 cm/year in growth velocity; surrogate endpoint, no final height data).
3. Mar 3–6 — AAOS 2027 annual meeting.
4. Apr 8–11 — WCO-IOF-ESCEO world congress on osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
5. Apr 24 — FDA decision on ReNu, an intra-articular amniotic allograft for knee osteoarthritis pain, backed by a pooled analysis of one positive phase 3 and one that missed its primary endpoint.

Target dates, not approvals. Critical take on every item in the full text and audio:
https://boletinesmedicos.com/en/orthopedics/2026-10-15-viene.html

#Orthopedics #Arthroplasty #KneeOsteoarthritis #Achondroplasia #BoletinesMedicos

What's next in orthopedics: FDA decides on oral infigratinib for achondroplasia (Feb 4) and an amniotic allograft for knee OA (Apr 24); AAHKS Nov 5–8, AAOS Mar 3–6. With critical take:
https://boletinesmedicos.com/en/orthopedics/2026-10-15-viene.html