Grünenthal receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for knee osteoarthritis drug

James Spargo | May 23, 2023 | News story | Medical Communications Breakthrough Therapy Designation, FDA, Grunenthal, Musculo-skeletal disorder, osteoarthritis 

German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded it Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for its investigational non-opioid medicine, resiniferatoxin (RTX), for the treatment of pain associated with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.

RTX is a highly potent Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) agonist, created from the discovery of a number of receptors, including TRPV1, and their perception of temperature and touch. It is an intra-articular injection which can reversibly defunctionalise TRPV-1-expressing nociceptors.

The FDA’s decision to award the BTD was based on phase 1 and 2 data which showed significant pain relief and a positive safety profile. Grünenthal is currently running phase 3 trials across Europe, the US, Latin America, South Africa, Japan and others, including more than 1,800 patients who have insufficient pain relief from nonsurgical treatment options.

Grünenthal aims to submit a Marketing Authorisation Application in 2025, with potential market entry in 2025/2026.

Jan Adams MD, CSO at Grünenthal, commented: “Millions of patients suffering from knee OA are waiting for additional treatment options. Resiniferatoxin targets one of the most common and severe symptoms of this currently incurable disease: pain. The decision shows that the FDA considers OA a serious disease and shares our assessment of resiniferatoxin’s potential to make a positive impact. We are hopeful that the BTD will help us to bring this non-opioid therapy option more quickly to patients.”

James Spargo

Related Content

FDA approves Amgen’s Imdelltra for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer

Amgen has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Imdelltra (tarlatamab-dlle) …

FDA approves Roche’s HPV self-collection screening option

Roche has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its human …

Moderna shares update on RSV vaccine

Moderna has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has shared that it …

Latest content