Cell Therapy News/Articles, page-2582

Gear loose ....
Here's Why Mesoblast Is Soaring Today
CONTRIBUTOR
Maxx Chatsko The Motley Fool
PUBLISHED
MAY 13, 2020 2:23PM EDT
What happened
Shares of Mesoblast (NASDAQ: MESO)rose as much as 27.2% today after the company announced the pricing of an offering of common stock. The stem cell developer will issue up to 43 million shares of common stock at AUD$3.20 apiece on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The business expects to generate gross proceeds of up to AUD$138 million, or roughly $90 million in U.S. dollars.

Investors were encouraged by signs that the offering drew significant interest. The Sydney Morning Heraldreported that Mesoblast had to push back "on demand from both new and existing institutional investors." As of 2 p.m. EDT, the small-cap stock had settled to a 11.9% gain.


Image source: Getty Images.

So what
The stem cell developer recently reported encouraging early results treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the most devastating symptom of COVID-19, with its allogeneic cell therapy called remestemcel-L. A small study of 12 individuals at a New York City hospital found that 10 individuals on mechanical ventilators who were given the experimental stem cell therapy survived, while nine were removed from mechanical ventilators at a median of 10 days.

That compares favorably to the current status quo. A study of nearly 2,600 individuals with COVID-19 at New York City hospitals found 88% died when placed on ventilator support.