Loci Healthcare's Cartilage Regeneration Treatment Platform Shows 'Effective' Interim Results in Egypt Clinical Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Rokit Healthcare announced on the 10th that its cartilage regeneration treatment platform in Egypt has shown positive results with no side effects observed during the 3-month clinical observation period.

The clinical trial has been conducted since the end of last year at Assiut University Hospital in Egypt. It targeted patients with an average age of 50, classified as Kellgren-Lawrence grade 3 or higher, indicating severe osteoarthritis, and who have suffered from osteoarthritis for a long time.

According to WHO statistics, the number of knee osteoarthritis patients in Egypt is approximately 3 million, similar in scale to the patient population in South Korea. A company official stated, “The patients participating in this clinical trial have long suffered from knee pain due to osteoarthritis, and cartilage regeneration was difficult with existing treatments. With these results, most patients experienced pain reduction and were able to resume daily activities within one week to several weeks after a single procedure.”

Professor Mohamed of the Department of Orthopedics at Assiut University Hospital, who led the clinical trial, is a leading authority in Egypt with 30 years of experience in osteoarthritis treatment and joint replacement surgery. Professor Mohamed said, “MRI scans over the 3 months showed that the cartilage tissue around the affected area and the newly regenerated tissue naturally integrated. Although various arthritis treatments have been performed before, this clinical trial showed unusually active cartilage regeneration.”

He added, “A housewife who was unable to do any household chores due to pain almost fully recovered her daily life, and a male patient who enjoyed exercising is now able to do light jogging, resulting in very high patient satisfaction. We will quickly spread Rokit’s treatment to many patients who previously had no options other than joint replacement surgery.”

A Rokit Healthcare official said, “The biggest achievement of this clinical trial is confirming that our cartilage regeneration treatment platform not only immediately reduces pain after the procedure but also promotes cartilage regeneration. Following the success in diabetic foot regeneration, the notable results in cartilage regeneration suggest that the method of creating extracellular matrix at the affected site using a bioprinter and autologous tissue could change the paradigm of regenerative treatment in the future.”

Meanwhile, before the clinical trial in Egypt, Rokit Healthcare confirmed cartilage regeneration in preclinical results at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a Harvard-affiliated hospital. They expect to achieve the same results in the current Egyptian clinical trial. The company plans to start commercialization not only based on domestic clinical trials but also in European countries where approval has already been obtained.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.