A Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Effectiveness of Single Administration Intradiscal rhGDF-5 for the Treatment of Early Stage Lumbar Disc Degeneration

A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled, Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Effectiveness of Single Administration Intradiscal rhGDF-5 for the Treatment of Early Stage Lumbar Disc Degeneration

Study to show the safety, tolerability and preliminary effectiveness of Intradiscal rhGDF-5 in subjects with early lumbar disc degeneration

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Early Lumbar Disc Degeneration
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Intradiscal rhGDF-5; Drug: Vehicle control

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Korea, Republic of
  • Daegu, Korea, Republic of
    • Yeungnam University Medical Center
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of
    • Seoul National University Hospital
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of
    • Asan Medical Center
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of
    • Gangnam Severance Hospital
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of
    • Korea University Anam Hospital
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of
    • Seoul St. Mary Hospital
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of
    • Yonsei University Health System

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Persistent low back pain with at least 3 months of non-surgical therapy at one suspected symptomatic lumbar level (L3/L4 to L5/S1) as confirmed using a standardized discography protocol. The required discography protocol will be provided by the sponsor. Subjects with multilevel disease must have a provocative discogram confirming that only 1 level is symptomatic at least 2 weeks prior to administration, with an expiry of 12 months from the date performed.
2. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for low back pain of 30 or greater
3. Low Back Pain score greater than or equal to 4 cm as measured by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at Visit 1 Baseline
4. Male or Female 18 years of age or older

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Persons unable to have a discogram, CT, or MRI
2. Abnormal neurological exam at baseline (e.g., chronic radiculopathy)
3. Active radicular pain due to anatomical compression such as stenosis or disc herniation (radicular pain is defined as pain below the knee)
4. Extravasation of contrast agent during the discogram into the epidural space (does not include leakage of contrast agent along the needle track or leakage to the outer annular ring at the posterior longitudinal ligament vicinity)
5. Suspected symptomatic facet joints and/or severe facet joint degeneration at the index level or adjacent segments

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: DOUBLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Intradiscal rhGDF-5; The API is recombinant human growth and differentiation factor-5 (rhGDF-5), a recombinant version of human GDF-5. GDF-5 is a member of the transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) superfamily and the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) subfamily, and is known to influence the growth and differentiation of various tissues, including the intervertebral disc. In vitro experiments have shown that rhGDF-5 can stimulate gene expression and synthesis of the extracellular matrix proteins type II collagen and aggrecan. In vivo experiments in rabbit models of disc degeneration have shown that intradiscal injections of rhGDF-5 can stimulate an increase in disc height and hydration.	Drug: Intradiscal rhGDF-5; The API is recombinant human growth and differentiation factor-5 (rhGDF-5), a recombinant version of human GDF-5. GDF-5 is a member of the transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) superfamily and the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) subfamily, and is known to influence the growth and differentiation of various tissues, including the intervertebral disc. In vitro experiments have shown that rhGDF-5 can stimulate gene expression and synthesis of the extracellular matrix proteins type II collagen and aggrecan. In vivo experiments in rabbit models of disc degeneration have shown that intradiscal injections of rhGDF-5 can stimulate an increase in disc height and hydration.
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Vehicle control; Excipients in Intradiscal rhGDF-5, to include Trehalose, Glycine, HCl, and Water for Injection	Drug: Vehicle control; Excipients in Intradiscal rhGDF-5, to include Trehalose, Glycine, HCl, and Water for Injection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Neurological Assessment for Motor Function and Reflexes/Sensory	Neurological Assessment for Motor Function and Reflexes/Sensory- Number of patients with Clinically Significant Abnormal results at 12 months. For Motor Function, Clinically Significant Abnormal results are determined by the surgeon investigator and are further classified by grade: 0= No Movement, 1= Flicker/trace of contraction, 2=Active movement when gravity removed, 3= Active movement against gravity, 4= Active Movement against gravity and resistance. For Reflexes/Sensory, Clinically Significant Abnormal results are determined by the surgeon investigator and are based on exams of the Knee, Ankle, L3-L5 Dermatone, and S1 Dermatome. Tension signs are evaluated with a straight leg raise to determine at which point, if any, sciatic pain occurs.	12 months
Treatment Emergent Adverse Events- Relationship to Study Drug	Number of patients with Treatment Emergent Adverse Events that were designated as Possibly or Probably Related to Study Drug.	12 month period and annual telephone contact at 24 and 36 months for subject health status follow-up
Treatment Emergent Adverse Events- Relationship to Study Drug	Number of patients with Treatment Emergent Adverse Events that were designated as Definitely Related to Study Drug.	Through a 12 month period and annual telephone contact at 24 and 36 months for subject health status follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Pain Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at 12 Months From Baseline.	The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score asks the subject to place a vertical mark on a horizontal line (that is approximately 10 cm long) with 'No Pain' (score of 0 = 0 cm) listed on the left and 'Very severe pain' (score of 10=10cm) labeled on the right. The subject is instructed to indicate the amount of pain they feel in their back.	12 months
Change in Function Assessed by Oswestry Disability Index Change at 12 Months From Baseline.	The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is a 10-category (Pain Intensity, Personal Care, Lifting, Walking, Sitting, Standing, Sleeping, Sex Life, Social Life, Traveling) disability measurement scale with a graded response from 0 to 5, with 0 being the best score (no impairment) to 5 being the worst score (significant impairment). ODI score for a subject is calculated by adding the scores and converting the score to a 100 point scale.	12 month
Change in Physical Component Summary of Quality of Life Measure Assessed by Short Form 36 at 12 Months From Baseline	The 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) is a patient reported outcome survey that evaluates functional health and well-being. The survey is converted into two summary measures (the Physical Component - PCS and Mental Component- MCS) that are scored from 0 to 100 (where 100 indicates the highest level of health).	12 months
Change in Mental Component Summary Quality of Life Measure Assessed by Short Form SF-36 at 12 Months From Baseline.	The 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) is a patient reported outcome survey that evaluates functional health and well-being. The survey is converted into two summary measures (the Physical Component - PCS and Mental Component- MCS) that are scored from 0 to 100 (where 100 indicates the highest level of health).	12 Months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: DePuy Spine
• Collaborators: Janssen Korea, Ltd., Korea

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Adoungotchodo A, Epure LM, Mwale F, Lerouge S. Chitosan-based hydrogels supplemented with gelatine and Link N enhance extracellular matrix deposition by encapsulated cells in a degenerative intervertebral disc environment. Eur Cell Mater. 2021 May 4;41:471-484. doi: 10.22203/eCM.v041a30.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): June 1, 2014
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): June 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 11, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 13, 2010
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): August 16, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): February 26, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 26, 2016
• Last Verified: January 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Spinal Diseases; Bone Diseases; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration
• Other Study ID Numbers: 09-Intradiscal rhGDF-5-03