Multicenter Study Demonstrates Superior Outcomes with equicenta® CTM for Returning Performance Horses to Work
Equine Performance Labs (EPL), the company behind equicenta® CTM, has announced the publication of new peer-reviewed clinical research demonstrating the potential of its regenerative therapy to improve outcomes in performance horses experiencing lameness. The prospective, controlled clinical trial found that a single, ready-to-use injection of equicenta® CTM produced significantly better clinical outcomes than clinician-selected standard-of-care treatments in lame performance horses.
The study was accepted on June 29, 2026, for publication in Frontiers in Veterinary Science within the journal’s Veterinary Regenerative Medicine section. According to EPL, the research represents one of the most comprehensive multicenter evaluations of a regenerative medicine therapy conducted in real-world equine veterinary practice.
The findings are significant because the trial was designed to evaluate equicenta® CTM against the treatments veterinarians actually select for their patients rather than comparing the therapy with a placebo or simply attempting to demonstrate equivalence. This pragmatic approach provides an opportunity to assess how the regenerative therapy performs in circumstances that more closely resemble everyday clinical decision-making.
Multicenter Study Evaluates Real-World Veterinary Care
The prospective controlled trial enrolled 138 lame performance horses representing 195 joint, tendon, and ligament conditions. The animals were treated across eight U.S. equine veterinary practices, providing a geographically and clinically diverse population for evaluation.
Of the enrolled horses, 135 completed the full 26-week follow-up period, allowing investigators to assess both early clinical responses and the durability of treatment outcomes over time.
The study was led by Alicia L. Bertone, DVM, PhD, DACVS, Emeritus, of The Ohio State University, with contributions from 12 additional co-authors representing nine institutions.
Participating veterinary organizations included Equine Athlete Veterinary Services, Tryon Equine Hospital, Woodland Run Equine Veterinary Facility, Peterson Smith Equine Hospital, Performance Veterinary Equine Services, Austin Equine Hospital, Palm Beach Equine Clinic, and Ocala Equine Hospital.
The multicenter structure of the research is particularly important because equine lameness can have diverse causes and may affect different anatomical structures. By including conditions involving joints, tendons, and ligaments, the study evaluated the therapy in a broad real-world performance-horse population.
Head-to-Head Comparison with Standard of Care
Rather than relying on a placebo-controlled model, the investigators compared equicenta® CTM directly with clinician-selected standard-of-care (SOC) treatments.
Most of the standard-of-care therapies used in the study were biologic treatments, including hemoderivative-based products.
This design was intended to reflect the decisions veterinarians make when treating lame performance horses in routine practice.
The objective was not simply to determine whether equicenta® CTM was safe or whether it performed similarly to another therapy. Instead, the trial evaluated whether the regenerative therapy could demonstrate superior clinical outcomes compared with the treatments veterinarians would typically select for similar cases.
According to the reported results, equicenta® CTM demonstrated significant advantages across multiple clinical and patient-centered measures.
Earlier Improvements in Pain and Swelling
One of the notable findings involved the speed at which horses demonstrated clinical improvement.
Horses treated with equicenta® CTM experienced greater reductions in pain and swelling by two weeks after treatment compared with animals receiving standard-of-care therapy.
The study also reported greater improvement in lameness by four weeks.
Early improvement is particularly important for performance horses, where lameness can affect mobility, athletic performance, training schedules, and overall welfare.
Rapid reduction in pain and inflammation-related symptoms may allow veterinarians and owners to establish rehabilitation plans sooner while potentially improving the horse’s ability to return to normal activity.
Benefits Continued Through Twelve Weeks
The advantages associated with equicenta® CTM were not limited to the earliest stages of recovery.
According to EPL, clinical outcomes remained significantly better for equicenta® CTM through 12 weeks following treatment, with statistical significance reported at p < 0.001 across the measured clinical outcomes.
The sustained nature of the response is an important aspect of the study because regenerative medicine therapies are often evaluated not only on their ability to provide short-term symptom relief but also on their potential to support longer-term recovery.
The findings therefore provide evidence that the observed benefits of equicenta® CTM persisted beyond the initial weeks following administration.
Greater Likelihood of Returning to Previous Performance
A particularly relevant outcome for owners, trainers, and veterinarians working with athletic horses was the therapy’s association with return to performance.
The study found that horses receiving equicenta® CTM had 2.72-to-1 odds of returning to their previous level of performance compared with horses receiving standard-of-care treatments.
This result was statistically significant, with a reported p-value below 0.006.
Return to prior performance is an important measure in equine sports medicine because clinical improvement does not necessarily guarantee that a horse will be able to resume its previous athletic workload.
For owners of performance horses, the ability to return to training and competition can be a major consideration when evaluating treatment options.
Owner-Reported Improvements in Well-Being
The study also incorporated owner-reported assessments of the horses’ overall condition and well-being.
Owners reported significantly better outcomes for horses treated with equicenta® CTM in areas including body condition, hair coat, overall health, and quality of life.
These measures were statistically significant at p < 0.03.
Including owner-reported outcomes provides an additional perspective on treatment effectiveness because clinical assessments conducted by veterinarians may not capture every change observed by owners during daily interactions with their horses.
Changes in behavior, general appearance, body condition, and quality of life can provide useful complementary information when assessing recovery.
Objective Gait Analysis Supports Clinical Findings
The reported benefits were also supported by objective measurements.
The study incorporated kinematic gait analysis, a technology-based approach used to evaluate movement patterns and quantify changes in locomotion.
The analysis confirmed significantly greater improvement in lameness among horses treated with equicenta® CTM.
Objective gait assessment can provide valuable information beyond subjective evaluations because lameness can sometimes be subtle and difficult to quantify consistently through visual observation alone.
The agreement between clinical assessments and objective gait measurements strengthens the overall findings of the study and provides additional evidence that the improvements associated with equicenta® CTM were measurable.
Favorable Injection-Related Safety Findings
Safety was another important component of the investigation.
According to the reported findings, horses treated with equicenta® CTM experienced fewer injection-related adverse events than those receiving standard-of-care treatments.
Safety considerations are particularly important in regenerative veterinary medicine because treatments may involve different preparation procedures, administration techniques, or biologic materials.
A therapy that can be administered efficiently while maintaining a favorable safety profile may offer practical advantages for both veterinary professionals and horse owners.
Ready-to-Use Regenerative Therapy
One of the distinguishing characteristics of equicenta® CTM is its ready-to-use format.
Unlike some regenerative approaches that require harvesting material from the individual animal, processing the material, or performing additional preparation before administration, equicenta® CTM is designed as an off-the-shelf allograft.
The treatment therefore does not require harvesting or culturing material from the patient or performing patient-side processing before injection.
This characteristic may simplify treatment logistics and potentially reduce some of the variability associated with therapies requiring extensive preparation.
For veterinary practices, streamlined administration can be particularly valuable in busy clinical environments where treatment decisions must account for time, cost, staffing, and product availability.
Addressing Practical Challenges in Equine Regenerative Medicine
Regenerative medicine has attracted considerable interest in equine sports medicine because of the potential to address injuries affecting joints, tendons, ligaments, and other structures involved in athletic performance.
However, treatment approaches can vary significantly in terms of preparation, biological characteristics, administration requirements, cost, and clinical evidence.
The availability of a ready-to-use therapy supported by peer-reviewed, multicenter clinical research could therefore represent an important development for veterinarians seeking more standardized treatment options.
The results of the EPL study provide clinical evidence that may help inform treatment discussions between veterinarians and horse owners.
Company Perspective on the Findings
Heather Rogers, CEO of Equine Performance Labs, described the results as an important milestone for the company and its approach to regenerative medicine.
According to Rogers, equicenta® CTM was developed with both equine welfare and the practical realities of veterinary medicine in mind.
She emphasized the importance of providing veterinarians and horse owners with a treatment option that is supported by peer-reviewed evidence and can be administered as a single ready-to-use injection.
The company believes that the combination of clinical performance, operational convenience, and standardized product availability could help advance the use of regenerative therapies in equine medicine.
Potential Significance for Performance Horse Care
The publication of this prospective, controlled multicenter trial adds to the growing body of research surrounding regenerative medicine in veterinary practice.
For performance horses, lameness can have substantial consequences, affecting not only athletic ability but also quality of life, training schedules, competition opportunities, and long-term health.
The study’s findings suggest that equicenta® CTM may offer advantages across several dimensions of recovery, including early reduction in pain and swelling, improvement in lameness, sustained clinical benefits, return to previous performance, owner-reported well-being, and injection-related safety.
Importantly, the research evaluated the therapy under real-world conditions across multiple veterinary practices rather than limiting the investigation to a highly controlled single-center environment.
Advancing Evidence-Based Equine Regenerative Medicine
The publication of the study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science provides peer-reviewed support for continued evaluation of equicenta® CTM as a regenerative treatment for lame performance horses.
With 138 horses, 195 conditions, eight veterinary practices, and 26 weeks of follow-up, the trial offers a substantial clinical dataset for assessing treatment performance.
The reported superiority over clinician-selected standard of care, together with objective gait analysis and owner-reported measures, provides multiple perspectives on the therapy’s potential benefits.
As regenerative medicine continues to develop within veterinary practice, evidence from prospective controlled clinical trials will remain important in helping veterinarians distinguish promising therapies from approaches with limited clinical validation.
For Equine Performance Labs, the new research represents a significant milestone in its effort to establish equicenta® CTM as a practical and evidence-supported option for equine lameness management. The company’s focus on a single, ready-to-use injection, combined with the results of a multicenter peer-reviewed clinical trial, could contribute to broader adoption of standardized regenerative medicine approaches for performance horses while keeping clinical outcomes and animal welfare at the center of treatment decisions.