He is pleased Arthritis New Zealand launched a publicity campaign on Tuesday in Wellington to increase awareness of AS, particularly among young people.
At its worst, the condition irreparably damages the spine when not treated.
Life-changing drugs funded for the past two years had changed the outlook for New Zealand sufferers of the "miserable" condition, which affects four times as many men as women, Mr Moore said.
Drugs costing more than $20,000 a year allowed the 45-year-old keen kayaker and tramper to return to recreational pursuits he had been forced to give up.
Before the drugs were funded by Pharmac, Mr Moore considered emigrating to Australia to access tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor drugs such as Humira.
He was now able to do more work in the field as a surveyor.
"It had got to the stage where getting dressed in the morning was a major problem."
Once a mountaineering guide, Mr Moore retrained as a surveyor in 2003, mainly because of his arthritis.
Dunedin Hospital rheumatologist Dr Simon Stebbings, a senior lecturer at Dunedin School of Medicine, said better drugs for AS had changed lives.
A few years ago, patients frequently skipped his hospital appointments out of frustration at lack of treatment options.
"Now I've got patients saying what a huge difference these groups of drugs have made to their quality of life and they've been able to get back to work, and get back to doing the hobbies they enjoy."
The public campaign was driven by the availability of the treatments.
"Because the emphasis has changed so much with these new drug treatments, suddenly we're much more keen to find people so we can treat them."
Difficult to diagnose, AS often hits young people who put back pain down to activity, such as sport.
"If you don't know that a condition exists, it's often hard to know if there's something wrong with you," Dr Stebbings said.
GPs often failed to recognise the symptoms too, and the campaign aimed to raise their awareness.