Mesoblast hits 50% enrolment for back pain trial

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) has enrolled 50% of patients in its phase II trial of adult stem cells to treat chronic back pain.

The Melbourne-based regenerative medicine company is investigating the use of off-the-shelf mesenchymal precursor cells (MPCs) for non-surgical restoration of degenerated intervertebral discs.

Mesoblast expects to complete full enrolment in the trial by early in the third quarter. The double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial will involve 100 patients with intervertebral disc disease, and be conducted at 15 sites across the US.

Patients will receive a percutaneous injection of either a low or high dose of MPCs along with a hyaluronic acid carrier or hyaluronic acid carrier alone, or a saline placebo alone.

The trial builds on a successful preclinical trial in sheep using allogeneic sheep MPCs, which showed a single injection can result in significant regeneration of disc anatomy, increase in proteoglycan content and increase in disc height over six months.

The phase II trial will attempt to extend these results.

Currently the only available treatment for back pain due to degenerating intervertebral discs is major back surgery, including a spinal fusion or artificial disc replacement. The stem cell treatment would ideally allow a number of patients to avoid the need for surgery and its complications.

Mesoblast is also testing MPCs in more conditions including degenerative heart failure and Type 2 diabetes. The company last year partnered with Swiss-based Lonza to mass-produce MPCs to meet global demand.

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) were trading 0.14% lower at $7.290 as of 3pm on Tuesday, the day the enrolment milestone was announced.