DiscGenics' cell therapy IDCT shows sustained improvement in pain, function, and disc regeneration in DDD patients, earning top publication honors in spine surgery research.
Salt Lake City, UT – April 10, 2025
DiscGenics, Inc., a Salt Lake City-based late-stage clinical biopharma company developing regenerative, cell-based therapies for musculoskeletal disorders, announced that its peer-reviewed clinical trial results have been recognized among the top three publications of 2024 in the International Journal of Spine Surgery (IJSS).
The study—titled “Allogeneic Disc Progenitor Cells Safely Increase Disc Volume and Improve Pain, Disability, and Quality of Life in Patients With Lumbar Disc Degeneration”—details outcomes from DiscGenics’ FDA-approved Phase I/II clinical trial of IDCT (also known as rebonuputemcel), a proprietary allogeneic cell therapy targeting degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine.
The randomized, double-blind trial met both its safety and efficacy endpoints. Patients receiving a single intradiscal injection of high-dose IDCT (9 million cells/mL) experienced statistically significant improvements in disc volume, back pain, physical function, and overall quality of life—benefits sustained up to two years post-injection.
“These results are exciting because they demonstrate not just symptom relief, but actual biological repair of the disc,” said Dr. Matthew F. Gornet, lead author, Board Certified Spine Surgeon at The Orthopedic Center of St. Louis, and the study’s top enroller. “IDCT offers a real opportunity to change how we treat patients with DDD.”
Dr. Gornet will present the study’s findings at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) annual meeting in Miami on Friday, April 11.
DiscGenics CEO and Chairman Flagg Flanagan emphasized the recognition’s significance: “We’re honored by the IJSS and ISASS acknowledgment and deeply grateful to Dr. Gornet and the contributing authors. This recognition validates years of rigorous work and underscores the transformative potential of IDCT as we prepare to launch our U.S. Phase III clinical trial.”
DiscGenics is a Salt Lake City-based privately held, late-stage clinical, biopharmaceutical company developing cell-based regenerative therapies that alleviate pain and restore function in patients with degenerative diseases of the spine. DiscGenics’s first product candidate, IDCT (rebonuputemcel), is an allogeneic, injectable discogenic progenitor cell therapy for symptomatic, mild to moderate lumbar disc degeneration. IDCT is a mixture of live Discogenic Cells, which are a manufactured progenitor cell population derived from donated adult human intervertebral disc tissue, and a viscous carrier. IDCT has been granted regenerative medicine advanced therapy (RMAT) and Fast Track designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As the only company in the world to develop an allogeneic cell therapy derived from intervertebral disc cells to treat diseases of the disc, DiscGenics can offer a non-surgical, potentially regenerative solution for the treatment of patients suffering from the debilitating effects of back pain.
The company has already secured FDA clearance to move forward with Phase III evaluation, as covered by TechBuzz last year. Patient enrollment is expected to begin in Q2 2025.