Knee Osteoarthritis and Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC): what the trial registry contains
The ClinicalTrials.gov registry holds 124 records for MSC in Knee Osteoarthritis: 9 recruiting now, 19 labelled Phase 3 or 4, across 30 countries. Snapshot 2026-08-29.
Why this is studied in Knee Osteoarthritis
The knee is the most-studied joint in cell therapy: accessible, high-volume, with validated pain and function scales and imaging that can track cartilage. Proposed mechanisms are anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective rather than cartilage regrowth, despite marketing that regularly implies new cartilage.
What MSC means in this table
Mesenchymal stromal cells are the workhorse of commercial cell therapy: easy to source from fat, cord or marrow, easy to expand, and rarely characterised in the same way twice. Their proposed action is paracrine — signalling molecules that damp inflammation — rather than replacement of lost tissue. That matters when reading counts like these, because two studies filed under the same label can test materially different products at different doses by different routes.
The numbers
Every figure below comes from one reproducible query (knee osteoarthritis x mesenchymal stem cell) run against ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 on 2026-08-29.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Registered studies (all statuses) | 124 |
| Interventional studies in the sample | 123 |
| Recruiting right now | 9 |
| Completed | 51 |
| Terminated, withdrawn or suspended | 6 |
| Phase 3 or Phase 4 records | 19 |
| Countries with at least one site | 30 |
| Median planned enrolment | 30 participants |
| Largest single planned enrolment | 573 participants |
| First / most recent start year | 2008 — 2026 |
How mature is this evidence?
This is one of the more developed corners of the field: 19 of the 124 registered records carry a Phase 3 or Phase 4 label, meaning sponsors believed earlier data justified a confirmatory attempt.
Registrations do not all survive contact with recruitment — 51 completed here, 6 stopped early, giving a 5% attrition rate.
| Phase label | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 2 | 60 | 38% |
| Phase 1 | 49 | 31% |
| Not applicable | 24 | 15% |
| Phase 3 | 18 | 11% |
| Early Phase 1 | 8 | 5% |
| Phase 4 | 1 | 1% |
Median planned enrolment is 30 participants (largest single study: 573). Trials of this size can describe safety and generate hypotheses; detecting a modest clinical benefit reliably usually needs substantially larger numbers with a control group.
Where the studies are
Sites are spread across 30 countries, with China accounting for roughly 23% of country mentions — geography reflects where regulators permit this work and where sponsors sit, not where care is best.
| Country | Studies with a site there |
|---|---|
| China | 19 |
| United States | 16 |
| South Korea | 15 |
| Iran | 6 |
| Spain | 6 |
| Indonesia | 5 |
| Taiwan | 5 |
| France | 4 |
| India | 3 |
| Jordan | 3 |
Legal pathway differs by country — see where cell therapy is legal, by country.
Who runs them
Among the top lead sponsors, 7 are universities or hospitals and 20 are companies, making this a commercial area.
- R-Bio — 7 records
- Medipost Co Ltd. — 6 records
- Shanghai AbelZeta Ltd. — 5 records
- Royan Institute — 4 records
- Peking University People's Hospital — 3 records
- Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Universidad de Navarra — 2 records
Representative registered studies
Recruiting studies first, then the most advanced phases. Each identifier links to the registry record, where eligibility criteria, outcome measures and contacts are published.
| Study | Phase | Status | Planned n | Lead sponsor | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07542808 — An Open-Label, Double-Treatment Group Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Human Allogeneic Bone-Marrow- Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Prod | Phase 2, Phase 3 | Recruiting | 140 | Cellcolabs Clinical SPV Limited | 2026-04-27 |
| NCT07339111 — Phase 3 Pivotal Trial Comparing CARTISTEM® and Surgical Comparator for Knee Cartilage Lesions and Osteoarthritis | Phase 3 | Recruiting | 300 | Medipost, Inc. | 2026-03-11 |
| NCT06570291 — Allogenic Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis | Phase 3 | Recruiting | 520 | Wuxi Cellular Biopharmaceutical Group Ltd. | 2025-02-28 |
| NCT06716281 — Efficacy and Safety of IxCell hUC-MSC-O in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis | Phase 3 | Recruiting | 398 | Shanghai IxCell Biotechnology Co., LTD | 2024-01-05 |
| NCT05933434 — Allogenic Mesenchymal Stem Cell Intraarticular Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis Therapy | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Recruiting | 80 | Aarhus University Hospital | 2024-03-07 |
| NCT03383081 — The Safety/Efficacy of hUC Mesenchymal Stem Cells（19#iSCLife®-OA） Therapy for Patients With Osteoarthritis | Phase 2 | Recruiting | 60 | Sclnow Biotechnology Co., Ltd. | 2018-10-01 |
| NCT06463847 — Phase I Clinical Trial of UC-MSCs in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis | Phase 1 | Recruiting | 18 | Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University | 2024-06-30 |
| NCT07094100 — Tissue Engineered Cartilage to Repairing Articular Cartilage Defects | n/a | Recruiting | 30 | The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College | 2026-04-20 |
| NCT06466850 — Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived Exosomes in Osteoarthritis Patients | n/a | Recruiting | 20 | Isfahan University of Medical Sciences | 2024-01-01 |
| NCT05086939 — Multicenter Clinical Trial Comparing Treatment with Allogeneic Mesenchymal Cells Versus Autologous Mesenchymal Cells and Versus Active Control with Hy | Phase 3 | Active Not Recruiting | 124 | Fundación Instituto de Estudios de Ciencias de la Salud de C | 2021-05-26 |
What this page does and does not tell you
A registry is a plan repository. Counting entries tells you what people intended to study, which is a weaker thing than what they found.
If a clinic offers you this today, the useful question is not "is there research?" but "which of these registered studies is mine part of, and if none, what evidence applies to the exact product I am being sold?" The Provider Question Builder turns that into a scored checklist.
Frequently asked
How many MSC studies for Knee Osteoarthritis are recruiting right now?
9 of 124 registered records were listed as recruiting in the 2026-08-29 snapshot. Recruitment status changes frequently; the registry record is authoritative.
Is MSC an approved treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis?
Registration on ClinicalTrials.gov is not approval. Approval is granted by a regulator for a specific product and indication after review of submitted evidence. 124 registered studies tell you research exists, not that a product cleared review.
How advanced is the research on MSC for Knee Osteoarthritis?
19 of 124 records carry a Phase 3 or Phase 4 label and 51 are marked completed. Registrations run from 2008 to 2026.
Registry and literature counts retrieved 2026-08-29 (ClinicalTrials.gov API v2; PubMed E-utilities). Registration or publication volume measures research activity, not effectiveness or approval. Educational information — not medical advice; verify product, indication, legal pathway and evidence with an independent qualified physician. Page generated 2026-08-29. See our editorial standards.
More on this condition
- Knee Osteoarthritis: cell-therapy evidence and registered trials
- How much does stem cell therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis cost? (2026)
- Knee Osteoarthritis stem cell therapy — your questions answered (2026)
- Knee Osteoarthritis: cell-therapy evidence by therapy class
- MSC vs PRP for Knee Osteoarthritis: what the registries show
Download the query data
Query totals are full API matches; status, phase and country counts describe the first up to 400 returned records per query. Query classes overlap and must not be summed as unique trials. Counts are not treatment outcomes. Snapshot: 2026-08-29. Methods and field definitions.