An Australia-based biotech company Mesoblast announced that it has began clinical trials for its stem cell therapy remestemcel-L in the treatment of COVID-19 patients experiencing Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
Mesoblast’s remestemcel-L treatment is derived from allogenic mesenchymal stem cells, which when infused into the body can slow down an immune response and prevent the body from damaging itself.
Mesoblast is enrolling up to 300 patients for the randomized, controlled study and over 20 hospitals will participate in the study, which is anticipated to last 3-4 months, Forbes reports.
The announcement came about a week after the company reported that treatment with remestemcel-L in a group of 12 COVID-19 patients with ARDS at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York had 83% survival rate.
The purpose of the randomized, controlled clinical trial is to test the survival rate on a larger scale.
CEO of the biotech company, Silviu Itescu said;
We were very pleased with preliminary data demonstrating the cells seem to have benefitted some of these patients. If the cells work in COVID-19 ARDS, we’re in a position to provide products to as many patients as possible.
According to a study, ARDS in Coronavirus patients is one of the deadliest complications of the disease, and often ends up requiring the use of ventilators in order to ensure they’re getting sufficient oxygen.
It’s caused by what’s known as a “cytokine storm” – an overreaction of the immune system in which the body ends up damaging the lungs in an attempt to destroy the coronavirus and the lung cells that it has infected.
Itescu stated;
The cytokines these cells make destroy lung tissue. It’s a trade-off being trying to get rid of the virus and trying to limit destruction to your own lung tissue.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 20-42% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients develop ARDS, with as many as 85% of patients admitted to intensive care having this complication.
Among those ICU patients who develop ARDS, over 40% die (some studies show that number as high as 72%) and those who survive spend an average of 10-13 days in the hospital.
The stem cell trial treatment by Mesoblast originally spun out of a research collaboration between Columbia University and Australian scientists, leading to the founding of the company in 2004.
The company is one of several biotech firms aiming to use mesenchymal stem cells as a potential COVID-19 treatment.
Another company named Athersys, which is working on stem cell therapies for strokes, heart disease and other conditions, is also expected to begin clinical trials soon.
Itescu said so far Mesoblast’s treatment has been tested in clinical trials in over 1,100 graft-vs-host patients.
He added that his company is focused on the next phase of its clinical research in the midst of this pandemic, and hopes it proves to be part of a number of effective therapies against the disease.
Itescu noted that;
We hope that what we’re doing is complementary to what folks who are developing vaccines and antivirals are doing.
