New Publication in Science Translational Medicine
We are pleased to announce the publication of the article titled “Clinical relevance of engineered cartilage maturation in a randomized multicenter trial for articular cartilage repair” in Science Translational Medicine (Vol. 17, eads0848, 2025).
This multicenter, randomized, open-label phase 2 trial evaluated the clinical efficacy of engineered nasal chondrocyte-derived cartilage grafts in repairing full-thickness knee cartilage defects. The study demonstrated that implantation of mature tissue-engineered cartilage (N-TEC) resulted in superior clinical outcomes compared to undifferentiated cell-activated matrices (N-CAM), as evidenced by higher KOOS scores and improved MRI-based structural assessments at 24 months post-operation.
The trial was conducted across five clinical sites in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Croatia, enrolling 108 patients between November 2016 and July 2020. The study underscores the importance of tissue maturation in cartilage engineering and its impact on clinical outcomes.
We are proud to highlight the contributions of the following Encanto project team members to this publication:
- Marcus Mumme – University Hospital Basel / AO Foundation
- Anke Wixmerten – University Hospital Basel
- Alan Ivković – Clinical Hospital Sveti Duh, Zagreb
- Giuseppe M. Peretti – University of Milan
- Stephan Reppenhagen – König-Ludwig-Haus, University Hospital Würzburg
- Oliver Pullig – University Hospital Würzburg
- Sylvie Miot – University Hospital Basel
- Marcel Jakob – University Hospital Basel
- Laura Mangiavini – University of Milan
- Corrado Sosio – IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan
- Sebastian Häusner – University Hospital Würzburg
- Andrea Barbero – University Hospital Basel
- Ivan Martin – University Hospital Basel / University of Basel
Their collaborative efforts have significantly advanced the field of regenerative medicine and cartilage repair.
The full article is available here: Science Translational Medicine – eads0848 (2025)