By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

A Canadian doctor is recruiting patients for a "first of its kind" stem cell research project for osteoarthritis. The Phase II study could further advance the use of regenerative medicine in treating osteoarthritis, a joint disease for which treatment options are currently limited to pain medication, steroid injections or joint replacement surgery.

"This is a potential game changer in the management of osteoarthritis," says lead investigator Dr. Grant Pagdin.  "Evidence is building that regenerative procedures using the combination of biologic materials we are investigating here have the potential to reduce joint pain and improve function.” 

Pagdin is recruiting 255 Canadians with osteoarthritis from 19 to 79 years of age. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of combining platelet-rich plasma (PRP) derived from a patient’s own blood with stem cells derived from their body fat (adipose tissue) or bone marrow.  

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups that will receive injections of PRP and adipose stem cells, PRP and bone marrow stem cells, or PRP with both types of stem cells. Three injections of the biologic material will be made into an arthritic joint. Participants will then be followed for up to 24 months to see which treatment worked better

Meanwhile, a California stem cell company has announced that enrollment has officially ended for a similar study of stem cells. Thirty-eight patients with knee osteoarthritis have been recruited by Personalized Stem Cells (PSC) for a Phase I trial to have adipose stem cells injected into one knee. The study was originally set to have up to 125 patients, but was scaled back due to COVID-19 concerns.

"While stem cells have previously been used successfully in the treatment of osteoarthritis, our goal is to produce high quality data and ultimately receive FDA approval so that arthritic patients have access to PSC's quality tested stem cell treatments," Dr. Robert Harman, PSC’s CEO, said in a statement.

PSC hopes to submit results from the study to the FDA by the end of 2020, after which a Phase II blinded, placebo-controlled study will be launched.

In addition to the osteoarthritis knee study, PSC recently received FDA approval to launch a small clinical trial for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with stem cells. The company also plans to pursue FDA approval of stem cells for the treatment of back pain and traumatic brain injuries, as well as arthritis affecting other joints.

A small Phase II clinical trial recently found a single injection of adipose stem cells can significantly reduce osteoarthritis knee pain for up to a year with no serious side effects, according to findings published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

More than 27 million Americans live with osteoarthritis, a progressive condition caused by the breakdown of joint cartilage. Osteoarthritis causes pain, physical disability, lower quality of life, and is associated with early death and cardiovascular problems.