Mesoblast MPCs alleviate back pain in trial

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) said patients treated with its mesenchymal precursor cells (MPC) during a phase II trial in chronic low back pain showed sustained improvement after 12 months.

Results from the 100-patient trial were presented at the North American Spine Society annual meeting in New York late last week.

Patients enrolled in the trial had moderate to severe low back pain persisting for more than six months due to early disc regeneration. Patients were randomised to receive either saline, hyaluronic acid, six million MPCs or 18 million MPCs in a hyaluronic acid carrier.

The patients are being assessed over a 36-month period. At the 12-month mark, MPC treated patients were three times more likely to report clinically significant pain and function improvement without further intervention.

MPCs have also been well tolerated, and radiographic evidence demonstrates decreased abnormal vertebral movement.

Mesoblast plans to commence a phase III trial of its MPCs by the end of the year as part of the regulatory approval process.

“There is a critical need for a non-surgical biologic approach to improve pain and function in the millions of patients suffering from low back pain associated with disc regeneration,” trial investigator Dr Hyan Bae of the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center said.

“The results to date seem promising and I believe Mesoblast’s stem cell therapy product could have the potential to transform the treatment of back pain.”

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) shares were trading 0.5% lower at $3.98 as of around 1.30 pm on Monday.