Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB) Proprietary Stem Cells Successfully Repair/Regenerate Damaged Intervertebral Disc Cartilage

Australia's regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB)(PINK:MBLTY), today announced highly successful preclinical trial results of its adult stem cells in the treatment of degenerative intervertebral disc disease, the leading cause of low back pain.


A single low-dose injection of Mesoblast's allogeneic or "off-the-shelf' adult stem cells into severely damaged intervertebral discs resulted in dramatic reversal of the degenerative process, regrowth of disc cartilage, and sustained normalization of disc pathology, anatomy and function. The results of a placebo-controlled, randomised trial of Mesoblast's cells for the treatment of degenerative disc disease in 36 sheep is being presented and highlighted at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis, OsteoArthritis Research Society International (OARSI), being held in Montreal, Canada from 10-12 September.


Six months after a single direct intra-discal injection of Mesoblast's cells, discs that were initially severely damaged and degenerated were found to have become indistinguishable from healthy non-degenerated discs in their histopathology, cartilage content, height, and structure. In contrast, severely degenerated discs which served as controls and were either not injected or were injected with hyaluronic acid, continued to demonstrate significantly reduced disc height (p