Sprifermin (

INN Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

) (developmental code name AS-902330), is a recombinant human

fibroblast growth factor 18 Fibroblast growth factor 18 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FGF18'' gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. FGF family members possess broad mitogenic and cell survival acti ...

(rhFGF18) analog, which is under development by Merck and Nordic Bioscience for the treatment of

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

. FGF18 and sprifermin are potent

agonists An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the agon ...

of the

FGFR2 Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) also known as CD332 (cluster of differentiation 332) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FGFR2'' gene residing on chromosome 10. FGFR2 is a receptor for fibroblast growth factor. The protein ...

FGFR3 Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FGFR3'' gene. FGFR3 has also been designated as CD333 (cluster of differentiation 333). The gene, which is located on chromosome 4, location q16.3, is expressed in ...

and

FGFR4 Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FGFR4'' gene. FGFR4 has also been designated as CD334 (cluster of differentiation 334). The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fibroblast growth fact ...

. In 2020, Merck reported 5-year follow-up data from the Phase 2 clinical trial for knee osteoarthritis, which demonstrated that sprifermin was able to promote statistically significant improvement in cartilage thickness relative to control in a dose-dependent manner, meeting the primary endpoint of the study. Sprifermin was well tolerated with no severe adverse events associated with the treatment. Long-term follow up showed that continual injections, up to 12 per year of bilateral treatment, may need to be sustained over a period of multiple years to prevent recurrence of cartilage loss. Improvement in

WOMAC The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) is a widely used, proprietary set of standardized questionnaires used by health professionals to evaluate the condition of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and h ...

, a secondary endpoint, was met for the Subgroup at Risk.

References

External links

Sprifermin - AdisInsight
Human proteins Recombinant proteins {{protein-stub