Evidence Hub

Efficacy and safety of fasinumab in an NSAID-controlled study in patients with pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee or hip

DiMartino SJ, Gao H, Eng S, Valenzuela G, Fuerst T, Emeremni C, Ho T, Hassan HE et al.

BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025

4,531 participants · 14 citations

Abstract

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) causes significant musculoskeletal pain. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of fasinumab, an investigational nerve growth factor inhibitor, in patients with moderate-to-severe OA pain of the knee/hip.

Methods: In this Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-controlled study, patients with OA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥ 2; Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index [WOMAC] pain score ≥ 4) received (2:1:1:1) fasinumab 1 mg every 4 weeks, diclofenac 75 mg twice daily, celecoxib 200 mg daily, or placebo for 24 weeks. Co‑primary endpoints were change in WOMAC pain and physical function scores to Week 24 versus placebo. For safety, joints were imaged in all patients at pre‑specified times, regardless of symptoms.

Results: Of 4531 patients screened, 1650 were randomized. At Week 24, greater improvements were observed for fasinumab versus placebo; least-squares mean difference: -0.63 (p = 0.0003) for WOMAC pain and -0.64 (p = 0.0003) for physical function. Improvements were numerically greater for fasinumab versus NSAIDs for physical function (-0.64 versus -0.31; nominal p < 0.05) and pain (-0.63 versus - 0.39; p = NS). Adjudicated arthropathies occurred in 1.6% of placebo-treated, 1.5% of NSAID-treated, and 5.6% of fasinumab-treated patients; joint replacements occurred in 3.6% of placebo-treated, 4.8% of NSAID-treated, and 3.4% of fasinumab-treated patients.

Conclusion:…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 4,531 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free