Vascarta Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative treatments for pain and inflammation, announced on Monday the successful completion of its phase 1 clinical trial evaluating VAS-101 (Vasceptor) for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA).

The study was conducted at Clinical Research Australia in Perth under the direction of principal investigator Dr. Adrian Lopresti. Publication and/or presentation of the data is expected in the coming months.

Conducted with 60 patients, the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated VAS-101, a proprietary curcumin gel, applied topically every other day for 28 days. The primary objective was to assess the effects of VAS-101 on pain in adults with chronic knee OA. Secondary objectives included evaluating the therapy's impact on safety and tolerability, quality of life, daily function, and the use of analgesics.

Dr. Lopresti commented: "When taken orally, curcumin is limited by low absorption, which reduces its therapeutic potential. In this study, VAS-101 administered topically demonstrated promising pain-relieving effects in people with knee osteoarthritis. These findings suggest that Vascarta's Vasporta transdermal technology may overcome the bioavailability challenges of oral curcumin, enabling rapid, localised pain relief at much lower doses."