PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new international clinical trial provides further evidence on the efficacy of combining chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine for the symptomatic treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA). The results show that this drug combination significantly improves, to a clinically relevant degree, patient’s pain, functional capacity, stiffness, inflammation, joint effusion, and overall quality of life. “It further confirms the powerful effect of combining chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine for the treatment of osteoarthritis .Its efficacy is comparable to that of an anti-inflammatory drug but with a much better safety profile”, declares Professor Jean Pierre Pelletier, rheumatologist at the University of Montreal and member of the scientific committee of the study.
The MOVES (Multicentre Osteoarthritis interVEntion trial with Sysadoa) is a multicentre, randomized, parallel group, double blind and controlled clinical trial including 606 primary knee OA patients with moderate to severe pain from 42 medical centers in France, Germany, Poland and Spain. The study, sponsored by Bioiberica, was carried out by a multidisciplinary research team, which included rheumatologists, orthopedists and primary care physicians and was designed following good clinical practice guidelines and the current laws and regulation governing research in OA drugs. Furthermore, the clinical trial was supervised by a scientific committee integrated by recognized international specialists. It is one of the largest studies recently carried out in osteoarthritis, and it has been presented this morning at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology.
The main aim of the study was to prove that the combination of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine has an efficacy comparable to that of celecoxib (an anti inflammatory) in the treatment of moderate to severe knee pain from OA. Patients were given 1200 mg of chondroitin sulfate and 1500mg of glucosamine hydrochloride per day or 200 mg of celecoxib over a six month period. The results were positive and according to Professor Pelletier, “the combination of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine is a key therapeutic alternative for polymedicated patients suffering from comorbidities, because their safety profile is better than that of anti-inflammatory drugs. Since OA is a chronic disease, this point is of special relevance”.
These results confirmed those from the NIH-sponsored trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2006, which suggested that the combination of both products yielded better results than placebo in severe pain patients. “These two multicentre clinical trials carried out in the US and in Europe clearly prove the efficacy and safety of the combination”, concludes Professor Pelletier.
About Bioiberica
Bioiberica is a biotech company specialized
in the research, development, production and distribution of
biomolecules for the pharmaceutical, veterinary and agrochemical
industry. In 35 years, this company has become the first worldwide
producer of non-Chinese heparin and is one of the leading companies in
the field of products and active ingredients for joint health.
