Parsippany, NJ-based Fidia Pharma USA’s injectable viscoelastic gel significantly improves knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain for up to a year in patients younger than 40 years, according to data presented July 7 at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) in Colorado Springs, CO.
Italian investigators presented data from a multicenter, open-label phase III study that involved giving 50 patients two intra-articular injections (3 mL) of Hymovis one week apart. Researchers assessed knee pain using several tools, including the OMERACT-OARSI (Outcome Measures in Rheumatology-Osteoarthritis Research Society International) responder criteria, at the beginning of the study, immediately after the injections, and at six months, and conducted a year of follow-up assessment.
All measures showed significant improvement from baseline that was maintained for 52 weeks, and 88% of patients improved enough to be classified as responders by OMERACT-OARSI criteria.
The European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences first published the results in March.
