Medipost said Thursday that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved its phase 1 clinical trial of SMUP-IA-01, a knee osteoarthritis treatment injection.

SMUP-cell is a next-generation stem cell culture technology developed by Medipost.

Using the technology, the company has developed a variety of drugs for intractable disease drugs by mass-producing cells with good stem cell performance such as cell proliferation, survival, and recovery rate.

Medipost has obtained a patent on how to cultivate such mesenchymal stem cells in the U.S., China, Japan, and Europe.

The company plans to conduct the phase 1 clinical trial on knee osteoarthritis patients with a Kellgren and Lawrence grade 2-3 and observe pain relief and inflammation suppression effects of the treatment.

“We are currently in the process of finalizing clinical trials for Cartistem, a cartilage regeneration therapy, with Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, and will be able to apply for clinical trials soon,” a company official said.