Exosome Evidence Index

Studies / Knee osteoarthritis

First human knee injection of a clinical-grade umbilical cord vesicle product

Figueroa-Valdés AI et al., Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 2025

Safety onlyStrength of design, level 1 of 5: Single case or case series

Safety only: The study looked for harms. It was not designed to show whether the treatment works.

Level 1 of 5: One patient or a handful, described without a comparison. It can raise an idea; it cannot show that a treatment works.

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Design
First-in-human single case
People
1 person
Made from
Umbilical cord
How it was given
Injection into the knee

What they found

No adverse effects over 12 months of follow-up.

What limits it

One patient. The study was designed to check safety, not whether the treatment works. The developer, EVast Bio, calls the product EVA-100.

Read the study

Reviewed by Tomaz Mesar, MD. Last reviewed October 2026. No exosome product is FDA-approved for any use. Before you book a treatment

Other studies of knee osteoarthritis

  1. No benefit over controlStrength of design, level 3 of 5: Controlled trial

    Placental stem cell vesicles injected into the knee for osteoarthritis

    Bolandnazar NS et al., BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2024. 31 people (62 knees). Made from: placenta.

    No difference from saline in pain, function, or MRI findings at 2 and 6 months. The injection was safe.