ArticleOsteoarthritis and cartilage open2024
Unbiased analysis of knee cartilage thickness change over three years after sprifermin vs. placebo treatment - A post-hoc analysis from the phase 2B FORWARD study.
Article in Osteoarthritis and cartilage open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01919164 (A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled, Parallel-group Trial to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of Different Intra Articular), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled, Parallel-group Trial to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of Different Intra Articular (i.a.) Dosages of Sprifermin in Subjects With Primary Osteoarthritis of the Knee
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Advances in cartilage imaging techniques.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026Review
- Intermittent intra-articular delivery of FGF8b enhances cartilage homeostasis and attenuates osteoarthritis progression.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2026Article
- A fully-automated technique for cartilage morphometry in knees with severe radiographic osteoarthritis - Method development and validation.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Article
- Advancements in Regenerative Therapies for Orthopedics: A Comprehensive Review of Platelet-Rich Plasma, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Peptide Therapies, and Biomimetic Applications.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Post-treatment cartilage morphometry in the FORWARD study was performed without blinding to MRI acquisition order, involving potential reader bias. Here we obtained unbiased estimates of cartilage change post-treatment, reading year (Y)2 and Y5 MRIs with blinding to time point. We studied whether post-treatment cartilage thickness change differed between sprifermin- and placebo-treated knees. Methods: FORWARD was a 5-year randomized control trial in 549 knee osteoarthritis patients. Here, Y2/Y5 images were analyzed with blinding to relative temporal order and treatment group. Cartilage change during Y2→Y5 was obtained in 337 participants: n = 57 treated with placebo intra-articular injections every 6 months (q6M); n = 69 with 30 μg sprifermin every 12 months (q12 M), n = 67 with 30 μg q6M, n = 73 with 100 μg q12 M, and n = 71 with 100 μg q6M between baseline (BL) and 18 M. Total femorotibial joint (TFTJ) cartilage thickness was the primary analytic focus. Results: TFTJ cartilage thickness change during Y2→Y5 was -26μm (SD64; 95%CI -32,-19) across the cohort; no statistically significant difference (p = 0.80) was observed between Sprifermin treated or placebo arms (one-way ANOVA). All groups lost cartilage, but the treatment-related difference in cartilage thickness in Sprifermin arms relative to placebo at Y2 was maintained until Y5. Annualized cartilage change in placebo participants was -8.2 μm (SD21; 95%CI -14,-2.5) during Y2→Y5 vs. -5.4 μm (SD27; 95%CI -13,1.8) during BL→Y2; no significant difference was identified ( Conclusion: FORWARD is the first study evaluating post-treatment benefits of a potential disease modifying osteoarthritis drug. Cartilage thickness gained with 100 μg sprifermin at Y2 is maintained to Y5 and thus appears viable and sustainable.This is a post-hoc analysis of the FORWARD trial: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01919164.
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