3Spine Inc. Receives IDE Approval for U.S. Pivotal Clinical Trial

3Spine Inc., a medical device company developing total joint replacement for the lumbar spine, has received FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval for its U.S. pivotal clinical trial.
 
The company previously completed contracting and site initiation at 16 U.S. centers for a prospective real-world evidence (RWE) fusion study, which has been enrolling since May 2021. As sites complete enrollment of their RWE cohort, each center becomes eligible to participate in the IDE. 3Spine plans to complete enrollment of +/- 150 RWE patients to propensity match with +/- 150 IDE patients in an adaptive statistical design.
 
MCRA (Washington, DC) supported 3Spine through the study design and IDE approval process.
 
“This is important, breakthrough technology for an underserved patient population,” said Justin Eggleton, vice president of Spine Regulatory Affairs at MCRA. “The considerations for such a novel treatment required significant resources at FDA, and we appreciate the agency’s dedication to the review. The FDA review team carefully and thoughtfully challenged over 10,000 pages of biomechanical data, clinical history, and an exhaustive battery of non-clinical testing. FDA’s review establishes an important foundation for our project. MCRA is excited to partner with 3Spine as CRO for the IDE to strengthen the safety and effectiveness profile for our future pre-market approval application.”
 
“Breakthrough Device Designation was critical to our success in the IDE approval process,” said Ron Yarbrough, chief operating officer at 3Spine. “This project is the culmination of decades of technical and clinical research in the lumbar spine, and while the courage of pioneering patients and surgeons brought us to this point, today it is all about the tenacity and expertise of the FDA review team. Our interactive review with FDA over the past two years has resulted in comprehensive coverage of an unparalleled number of technical disciplines, reflecting the potentially transformational nature of this spine technology. We are very excited to begin IDE enrollment.”
 
3Spine’s MOTUS device, the implant used in the BalancedBack Total Joint Replacement procedure, is a ‘first of kind’ technology replacing the function of the disc and facet joints through a posterior approach. The procedure broadly addresses leg pain, back pain, and spinal instability, while correcting posture and restoring freedom of movement through reconstruction of the functional spinal unit. MOTUS was designated a Breakthrough Device by the Food and Drug Administration in 2020.
 
The BalancedBack Total Joint Replacement is indicated for the biomechanical reconstruction and stabilization of a spinal motion segment following decompression at one lumbar level from L1/L2 to L5/S1 for skeletally mature patients due to symptomatic lumbar degeneration with or without foraminal or recess spinal stenosis confirmed by radiographic imaging (CT, MRI, X-rays), with no more than a Grade 1 spondylolisthesis at the involved level.