If the electrical stimulation is effective, I would say it would probably be preferable to most drug therapies since just about all drugs have serious side-effects when taken over a lifetime - certainly mainstream rheumatoid arthritis drugs like Prednisone can have horrific side-effects.
Something new with few side effects might help lots of people avoid surgery.
I have been on a TNF-a inhibitor for over a year and the results thus far have been literally life changing - for the better. I haven't been this healthy or had this much energy since before adulthood.
I'm sure there are many patients who would be happy for a more cost effective option.
Interesting question is whether they then need to go through the process of FDA/similar approval. The cost savings aren't as simple as just creating the chemical structure... We are talking about immunoglobulins
They're also very, very expensive.
C diff, Lysteria, and Salmonella... Oddly, ecoli doesn't appear on the list. See table #2 & #3