The Science Behind KHP-1
A single-injection regenerative gene therapy in development for canine osteoarthritis — explained simply, for pet parents.
What Is Osteoarthritis in Dogs?
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that affects a large share of dogs, especially as they age. Cartilage breaks down, joints become inflamed, and everyday movement — walking, playing, climbing stairs — becomes painful. Current options like pain medication, joint supplements, and physical therapy can help manage symptoms, but they don’t address the underlying joint degeneration.
How KHP-1 Is Designed to Work
KHP-1 is a regenerative gene therapy, administered as a single injection directly into the affected joint. Rather than simply masking pain, it is designed to prompt the joint’s own cells to reduce inflammation and support tissue repair — targeting the biology of OA at its source.
Read the technical detail
Stress and aging drive the build-up of a lipid called ceramide in joint tissue. Ceramide pushes cells into senescence, which triggers inflammation and tissue damage — and that damage drives further senescence, reinforcing a self-perpetuating cycle.
KHP-1 delivers the gene for acid ceramidase, the enzyme that breaks down ceramide. By restoring acid ceramidase activity at the joint, the therapy is designed to:
- Revert senescent cells to normal function
- Interrupt senescence-induced inflammation
- Stop tissue damage
Preclinical mechanism-of-action data; full vector/construct details are available to prospective investors in our data room upon signing an NDA.
Switching Off the Inflammation Loop
Ceramide Accumulates
Age and mechanical stress drive ceramide build-up in joint tissue.
Cells Senesce
Ceramide pushes joint cells toward senescence, releasing inflammatory signals.
The Loop Reinforces
Inflammation causes damage; damage causes more senescence. This is the engine of OA.
KHP-1 Breaks the Loop
Acid ceramidase converts ceramide into a pro-survival signal, so cells stop dying.
This is disease modification, not just pain relief — delivered as one dose, directly into the joint, by AAV gene therapy that establishes local, durable expression.
How KHP-1 Compares
KHP-1 has not been approved and these are design goals, not confirmed clinical results. Controlled efficacy will be established in the registrational study.
| KHP-1 | Monthly Injectable | Daily NSAIDs | Joint Injections | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single lifetime dose | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Targets disease, not just pain | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Delivered into the joint | ✓ | — | — | ✓ |
| No daily chronic-use burden | ✓ | — | — | — |
Comparison reflects design intent for KHP-1, an investigational product, against general categories of existing treatments. Not a claim of superiority over any specific approved product. Swipe to see all columns on mobile.
Regulatory & Safety
KHP-1 is currently in development and has not been approved for commercial use. The FDA has an established regulatory pathway for canine osteoarthritis biologics, and approval is based on a defined pivotal study rather than an open-ended timeline. A completed pilot at SpotOn Veterinary Hospital and a pre-INAD meeting with the FDA have informed the study design ahead of the registrational trial.
KHP-1’s science is protected by sixteen patents — nine composition-of-matter and seven method-of-treatment — with core intellectual property originating from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
