EpiBone's Lab-Created Knee Cartilage as Good as Gold Standard

Results from equine study presented at ICRS Meeting

NICE, France, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tissue created in a lab to replace damaged knee cartilage is just as good, and in some ways better, than the current gold standard of using donor tissue, according to study results reported Friday at the Focus Meeting of the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society.

An equine study performed at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine compared EpiBone's lab-grown tissue graft to donor tissue for repairing knee cartilage. Tissue created from donor stem cells, known as a tissue-engineered allogenic osteochondral graft, was implanted into the knee. It was compared to osteochondral allograft, which uses cadaver tissue. In most ways, the two grafts produced similar results, while the lab-grown replacement integrated better with the surrounding native cartilage.

"I have tested many synthetic products using polymers or metals for osteochondral repair. What's promising about this product is that it is made from natural materials, rather than synthetics," said Lisa Fortier, DVM, PhD, DACVS, Principal Investigator of the study, as well as Professor of Surgery at Cornell University. "When we used natural tissue, it incorporated very well with the surrounding osteochondral tissue, which is promising for the hundreds of thousands of people who suffer from knee pain and undergo surgery to replace damaged cartilage."

Knee pain is a growing problem in the U.S., with around 800,000 people undergoing knee replacements each year. There are limitations, though, to a total knee replacement. An artificial knee typically has a lifespan of 15 to 20 years, and may not alleviate pain. Some patients (8 to 34 percent) report persistent pain beyond three months after surgery, according to data presented at the 2017 American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons annual meeting. An osteochondral graft, more specifically, typically benefits the "weekend warrior" – active adults under 50 who have pain, inflammation or catching in the knee. The procedure targets a large area of damage, replacing damaged tissue at the intersection of cartilage and bone. By intervening early, this surgery can prevent further spread of cartilage damage and possibly even prevent or delay the need for a knee replacement.

The current solution, using tissue from cadavers, is limited by donor supply and requires sufficient storage. Currently, only about 2,000 to 3,000 of these procedures are performed in the U.S. EpiBone's process takes bone marrow stem cells and turns them into tissue, mimicking what happens naturally in the body. This study sought to compare the effectiveness of lab-created tissue to the current gold standard of using cadaver tissue.

"By growing cartilage in the lab from stem cells, we could eliminate supply chain constraints and potentially help more people," said Sarindr "Ik" Bhumiratana, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of EpiBone. "We have successfully demonstrated safety and efficacy in the study, and these results give us greater confidence that we are creating a product that could eventually become the gold standard of cartilage repair. Our next step is to test the product in a human clinical trial."

The results were shared at the ICRS Focus Meeting, which showcased allografts and synthetics for cartilage healing. The conference was held April 27-29, 2023, in Nice, France.

About EpiBone
EpiBone, Inc. is a privately-held regenerative medicine company focused on skeletal reconstruction. Sitting at the intersection of biology and engineering, the company harnesses the power of cells to create living solutions that become a seamless part of a patient's body. EpiBone is currently developing a pipeline of bone, cartilage, and other skeletal tissue products.

For more information, visit epibone.com.

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SOURCE EpiBone, Inc.