Ferring osteoarthritis drug beats rival in study

In the 12-week trial of 321 patients, Euflexxa showed statistically significant advantages over Synvisc. More patients treated with Euflexxa were symptom-free, there was a lower incidence of joint effusion, fewer patients required supplemental simple analgesics, and more patients reported being “very satisfied”.

In the study, which was published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, Euflexxa was shown to be comparable in efficacy to Synvisc. At the study endpoint, 63% of patients treated with Ferring’s drug were symptom-free compared with 52% of those treated with Synvisc.

In terms of patient satisfaction, 50% of Euflexxa patients were ‘very satisfied’ with treatment results compared to 37% for the Synvisc group. A subanalysis performed on patients with unilateral osteoarthritis (OA) also found that only 49% of patients treated with Euflexxa used supplemental simple analgesics compared to 82% of those treated with Synvisc.

Euflexxa is the first and only hyaluronic acid (HA) approved in the US for the treatment of the pain of knee osteoarthritis that is not derived from an avian source. This has been shown to eliminate the risk of related reactions.

Euflexxa is a three-injection treatment regimen indicated for patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative non-pharmacologic therapy and simple analgesics. The goal of HA therapy is to reduce pain and improve physical function by replenishing the HA in human synovial fluid (fluid in joints). In OA, this fluid becomes thinner, leading to a decrease in elasticity and viscosity.