Bone Therapeutics’ allogeneic cell therapy product, ALLOB, shows 90% fusion rate at 24 months in Phase IIa study in lumbar spinal fusion

The 24-month data show a high percentage of successful lumbar vertebrae fusion of 90%. Patients also continue to experience important clinical improvements in function and pain, from as early as six months after treatment, up to the 24-month follow-up period.

“Degenerative spine disorders have a major impact on the quality of life of patients. These impacts include decreases in the stability of the spine and pain in motion,” said Dr. Alphonse Lubansu, M.D., Head of the Spinal Clinic, Erasme University Hospital, Université libre de Bruxelles. “The 24 month follow-up data of this Phase IIa clinical trial have demonstrated that patients treated with ALLOB in spinal fusion procedure show a high incidence in fusion, and benefit from a sustained, clinically meaningful improvement in function and pain throughout the 24 months following treatment together with a good safety profile. These results show that ALLOB in combination with the standard spine fusion surgery could be a promising treatment option to address the currently unmet needs of these patients.”

“This positive data for lumbar spinal fusion complements the strong Phase I/IIa results from ALLOB in patients with delayed union fractures,” said Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Bone Therapeutics. “These studies provide promising clinical evidence for the potential of Bone Therapeutics’ unique allogeneic cell therapy platform to address high unmet medical needs in orthopaedics and bone related disorders. We will now hold discussions with global regulators and our partners to explore a variety of options for the next stages of clinical development for ALLOB in different orthopedic indications, while pursuing the phase IIb study of ALLOB in difficult tibial fractures. In addition, the clinical results provide further evidence for the expansion of ALLOB and our platform of differentiated MSCs to other indications.”

The multi-center, open-label proof-of-concept Phase IIa study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ALLOB administered, procedure in which an interbody cage with bioceramic granules mixed with ALLOB is implanted into the spine to achieve fusion of the lumbar vertebrae. The main endpoints of the 24-month follow-up analysis included safety and radiological assessments to evaluate vertebrae fusion (continuous bone bridges) and clinical assessments to evaluate improvement in patients’ functional disability as well as reduction in back and leg pain. The study evaluated 30 patients treated with ALLOB, 29 patients attended the 24-month visit.
 
Radiological data was collected from CT-scans at 24 months and assessed by three external readers. It showed a successful fusion of the lumbar vertebrae in 27 out of 30 patients (90%). In addition, the remaining 3 patients showed radiological evidence of bone formation. Treatment with ALLOB also resulted in a clear and statistically significant clinical improvement in function and reduction in pain over the 24-month follow-up period. Functional disability improved from the pre-treatment baseline to 24-month by a mean score of 60% (p<0.001) on the Oswestry Disability Index(1). Back and leg pain were strongly reduced by 57 to 62% (p<0.001) and 68 to 70% (p<0.001) respectively compared to pre-treatment baseline. Treatment with ALLOB was generally well-tolerated by the patients, consistent with previous reported results.

(1) The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is an index derived from the Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire used by clinicians and researchers to measure a patient's permanent functional disability. This validated questionnaire was first published by Jeremy Fairbank et al. in Physiotherapy in 1980. ODI score of 0%-20%: minimal disability; 21%-40%: moderate disability; 41%-60%: severe disability; 61%-80%: crippled; 81%-100%: bed bound.