For pharmacological testing of drugs with antidegenerative potency we developed an animal model of biochemically induced osteoarthritis (OA) by blocking the glycolytic energy metabolism and synthetic processes in articular chondrocytes. After local injection of sodium iodoacetate osteoarthritic reactions will progress within 2-4 months. Using a standardized radiological, histological, and macroscopical grading we could demonstrate that corticosteroids and some NSAID exert negative effects on articular cartilage, while a few other NSAID showed no influence. Diclofenac had even a pronounced antidegenerative potency which was comparable to the antiosteoarthritic properties of two glycosaminoglycan derivatives investigated in the model of biochemically induced OA in the knee joint of hens and rats.