A Study on Visco-antalgic Intra-articular Administration in Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease affecting millions of people around the world, for which there is unfortunately no cure. Among existing therapies, viscosupplementation, i.e., the injection of hyaluronic acid into the joint, has an established place in the symptomatic treatment of knee OA.

The present Phase IIb/III aiming to assess the safety and efficacy of JTA-004 is organized in two phases. With results obtained in the first phase the best dose of JTA-004 is determined, and the efficacy of the selected dose will then be confirmed in the second phase.


Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Ambulatory
* Diagnosed with primary knee osteoarthritis, fulfilling the following American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria at the target knee:

  * Pain ≥ 40 mm on a 0-100 mm VAS during the 3 days preceding the date of the screening visit
  * Morning stiffness not exceeding 30 minutes
  * Kellgren-Lawrence grade II or III
* Insufficient / failed response to analgesic and / or NSAIDs
* No physical therapy of the knee, and knee braces for the entire duration of study
* Ability to provide a written, dated, and signed informed consent prior to any study related procedure, and to understand and comply with study requirements

Exclusion Criteria:

Current symptoms and/or signs related to the disease under study:

* Isolated symptomatic femoropatellar OA of the target knee
* History of trauma or surgery or arthroscopy at the target knee within 6 months before inclusion
* Concomitant inflammatory disease or other condition affecting the joints (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, inflammatory joint disease, metabolic bone disease, psoriasis, gout, microcrystalline arthropathies/chondrocalcinosis, Paget's disease)
* Any musculoskeletal condition (such as hip osteoarthritis, amputation, neurologic disorder) that would impede measurement of efficacy at target knee
* Target knee prosthesis planned within 12 months after the Screening Visit

Current or previous diagnoses, signs and/or symptoms:

* Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, end-stage hepatic or renal disease
* Current (or within the last 5 years prior to entering the study) history of solid or haematological neoplasia or bone marrow transplantation (except for basal cell carcinoma and completely excised squamous cell carcinoma)
* Other severe acute or chronic medical or psychiatric conditions or pre-dispositions or laboratory abnormalities, as judged by the Investigator
* Current or past history of coagulation disorders, as judged by the Investigator
* Hypersensitivity to any components of HA-based injection products
* History of hypersensitivity to human biological material including blood and blood derived products, potential excipients and residues from manufacturing process documented clinically or by laboratory tests
* Hypersensitivity to avian proteins
* Life expectancy less than 6 months

Current or previous treatment:

* Participation in another clinical study within 6 months prior to Screening
* Patients previously treated with JTA-004
* Treatment:

  * Within 6 months prior to Screening: intra-articular hyaluronic acid injection at the target knee
  * Within 2 months prior to Screening: intra-articular glucocorticoids at the target knee
* Current chemo-, radio- or immuno-cancer-therapy or immunosuppressive therapy
* Current anti-hypertensive medication the effects of which are known to be potentiated by a single dose of clonidine
* Current (or within 6 months prior to Screening) illicit drug abuse

Safety aspects concerning female subjects of childbearing potential:

* Females who are pregnant, lactating or woman with childbearing potential (last menstrual bleeding less than 12 months ago) unwilling to use medically acceptable contraception, or women with childbearing potential unwilling to perform a pregnancy test before administration of study treatment.

Other exclusion criteria:

* Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 kg/m2 or greater