MUVON Therapeutics has reported positive topline results from its Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating a muscle precursor cell-based tissue-engineered therapy for stress urinary incontinence in women. The study met both its primary and secondary endpoints with a treatment responder rate of 87% at six months.
The single center, randomized, blinded Phase 2 study evaluated MUVON’s investigational tissue-engineered, autologous MPC-based therapy (MPCCOL) at two different dose levels. A total of 30 women with clinically diagnosed stress urinary incontinence who had failed prior conservative treatments completed the study.
The protocol consisted of obtaining a small calf-muscle biopsy under local anesthesia from which the patient’s own muscle precursor cells were isolated and expanded. These cells were used to prepare the final tissue-engineered product which was injected via the urethra into the external urethral sphincter muscle using a proprietary ultrasound-guided injection device.
The study met its primary endpoint, showing a clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction in stress incontinence episode frequency at six months post-implantation. Incontinence episodes decreased by 60% overall compared to baseline, with patients treated with the higher dose showing a 71% improvement. Improvements were evident as early as one month post-implantation and sustained throughout the study duration.
The study also met its secondary endpoint, showing a clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction in urinary leakage. Pad weight decreased by 66% overall, with both dose groups achieving greater than 50% improvement and the higher dose showing 76% improvement.
“A change in incontinence episode frequency or reduction of urine leakage by at least 50% are recognized as clinically relevant,” said Prof. Philip Van Kerrebroek, MD, Professor Emeritus of Urology at University of Maastricht. “MUVON’s novel therapy significantly exceeded this threshold and, along with the reported safety profile, is a potential game changer in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.”
No serious adverse events related to the tissue-engineered therapy were reported. No MPCCOL-related adverse events were reported and no device-related adverse effects occurred. MRI and clinical assessments confirmed tissue integrity in all patients.
“The consistency of improvement across all endpoints, alongside a favorable tolerability profile, further validates our therapeutic approach which directly addresses the functional muscle deficiency in SUI and could reduce reliance on synthetic material implants,” said Dr. Deana Mohr, Chief Executive Officer of MUVON Therapeutics.
Stress urinary incontinence affects over 150 million women worldwide, with up to 40% of women over the age of 40 and one in four women after childbirth experiencing it. Many patients do not achieve satisfactory relief with conservative measures such as Kegel exercises. Surgical approaches including bulking agent injections, surgical mesh, and slings may exhibit drawbacks from limited durability to risks associated with invasiveness or adverse events linked to synthetic material implantation.
MUVON and the study team plan to submit the full data set for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and to present results at upcoming international medical conferences. The study was funded and supported by the University of Zurich and the Wyss Zurich Translational Center.
MUVON Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the University of Zurich.
