• Two Charles Sturt University researchers secure a $7 million grant for groundbreaking late-stage research utilising stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis
• The grant is part of the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund awarded to Magellan Stem Cells as one of six funded projects through the Stem Cell Therapies Mission
• The funding is to conduct late-stage donor stem cell research for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.  

Charles Sturt researchers have secured a $7 million grant to participate in groundbreaking research to reduce the debilitating impacts of knee osteoarthritis.

The late-stage research will be led by the Charles Sturt research team Lecturer in the Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine Adjunct Associate Professor Julien Freitag and Senior Lecturer in Human Anatomy and Physiology within the Charles Sturt School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences Dr James Wickham. It will assess the efficacy of a donor stem cell product developed by Australian biotechnology company Magellan Stem Cells for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

The grant is part of the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund awarded to Magellan Stem Cells as one of six funded projects through the Stem Cell Therapies Mission.

Dr Wickham said the research has the potential to benefit more than two million Australians with osteoarthritis, a disease which has no disease-modifying treatment for it. 

“The research will assess the effectiveness of donor stem cells in the treatment of knee joint osteoarthritis,” Dr Wickham said.

“It builds upon the success of our recently published earlier Phase 1/2 trial whereby we demonstrated the safety of Magellan’s proprietary donor cell therapy in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis and observed significant improvements in pain and function, with an indication that the therapy may prevent and/or delay arthritis progression.”

Dr Wickham said the research will recruit 573 participants who have a confirmed diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis.

“The participants will receive an intra-articular injection of either 20 million stem cells, 100 million stem cells (MAG200) or a placebo solution (saline) into their affected knee,” Dr Wickham said.

“Their pain and function will be assessed over a 12-month period through online questionnaires and an MRI completed to assess structural improvement.” 

Professor Freitag said the cells will be derived from adipose (fat) tissue around the abdomen from suitable donors.

“Osteoarthritis is a significant unmet healthcare need and a leading cause of disability worldwide. It is recognised as a National Health Priority,” Professor Freitag said.

“Magellan’s donor stem cell therapy represents a scalable off-the-shelf cell therapy with the potential to address this unmet need and significantly reduce the associated community and economic burden.” 

The clinical research will take place at multiple clinical sites across Australia.

Professor Freitag said the primary objective of the research is to assess the effect of MAG200 at two different doses, compared with placebo, on pain, and function.

“It is anticipated that the successful completion of the research will result in improvement in the health and well-being of Australians and lead to a transformational change in clinical care,” he said.

“The motivation for myself as a clinician is to see the dramatic and essentially life-changing improvement in a patient’s quality of life. To observe these improvements being maintained, five years after treatment – after what is essentially a singular simple injection – is staggering.”

Professor Freitag said there is an accepted valley of death between promising scientific research and bringing this research to the bedside. 

“The Federal Government, through the Medical Research Future Fund has actively sought to bridge this gap by supporting clinical studies such as ours which promise to have significant community impact and ensures Australians have access to innovative life changing therapies,” he said.

“The grant represents an investment in Australian developed innovative therapies and reduces Australia’s reliance on offshore manufacturing and therapeutic development.”

The research is anticipated to commence in mid-2025 and will continue over a five-year period.

ENDS