TL;DR
The cushions between the bones of the spine wear out with age, and when they do they flatten, ache and give up height. A Salt Lake City company, DiscGenics, is trying to refill them with one shot of cells grown from donated disc tissue. In its first U.S. trial, 20 people who got the high dose had their back pain cut by about 63% and their worn discs grew larger over two years, measured on MRI. Now the last stage of testing is under way: a 162-person trial against a fake injection, recruiting at 31 U.S. sites, whose first patient the company announced in January 2026. For people with bad backs, that could mean a fix that rebuilds the disc instead of fusing or cutting it, and for everyone else, a first tool against the slow shrink of the aging spine. Our odds that this cell shot is approved: a 70% chance it works, likely by 2030. For the full odds and the timeline of breakthroughs that leads there, subscribe.
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