Cell Therapy News/Articles, page-7825

Healthcare Stock on the top 30 short list.
https://thebull.com.au/healthcare-stocks-on-the-top-30-short-list/

Healthcare is a sector on virtually all analyst and expert lists expecting upcoming tailwinds, due to increased consumer awareness of all things promoting their own health.

The 15 November Top 30 Shorted Stocks List appearing on thebull.com.au includes the following five healthcare stocks , listed by the stock’s position on the list:

• Mesoblast Limited (MSB) #6
• Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (CLV) #13
• Avita Therapeutics (AVH) #14
• Polynovo Limited (PNV) #15
• Pro Medicus Limited (PME) #24

Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast traces its origins back to 2004, making its first appearance on the favored stock radar of Aussie investors in 2010. The company’s annual report featured positive results from preclinical trials for the treatment of back pain from degenerative disc disease. The stock price began an upward climb, culminating in an all-time high reached in July of 2011 and has been in decline ever since as the company has arguably established a reputation for teasing its investors with positive news only to followed by repeated stumbling blocks.

The company’s “proprietary mesenchymal lineage adult stem cells (MLCs) are found in multiple tissues where they play vital roles in maintaining tissue health.”

That description comes from the Mesoblast website, an excellent source for a layperson’s attempts to understand this challenging and promising source for medical treatments.

What investors need to know is that the originating cells are found throughout the human body where they act as guardians of the human immune system and mechanics of tissue repair.

The resultant and readily available Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) and Mesenchymal Stem Cells

have the potential to treat a wide variety of conditions, acting like the body’s naturally occurring corrective measures.

Right now the company lists four treatments in Phase 3 Clinical Trials:

• RYONCIL™ (remestemcel-L) for steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (acute GVHD) in children

• Remestemcel-L for moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19 infection
• REVASCOR® for advanced chronic heart failure
• MPC-06-ID for chronic low back pain due to degenerative disc disease

The range of treatments that stand to benefit from the Mesoblast technology is extensive, from orthopaedic conditions to respiratory and cardiac issues to cancer and blood disorders.

Following a steep decline in share price as many medical procedures were curtailed in the early onset of the COVID 19 Pandemic, Mesoblast shares got a boost when the company received approval from the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to submit an IND (Investigational New Drug Application) to use its cell therapy treatment, the remestemcel-L treatment, on COVID-19 ventilator-dependent patients.

The shorts leaped for joy when in early October the FDA withheld approval of the treatment, requiring further evidence although final approval remains a possibility.

On 20 November Mesoblast investors got a dose of good news that should make the short sellers nervous. The ongoing trials on the company’s mesenchymal stromal cell product Remestemcel-L as a treatment for COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) impressed global pharma powerhouse Novartis enough to ink an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Mesoblast for the manufacture and distribution of Remestemcel-L worldwide. The initial phase calls for an upfront payment to Mesoblast of $50 million dollars with a focus on treating ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) not limited to COVID 19 patients. In mid-2020 Mesoblast joined the ASX 200.

While Mesoblast shares got a boost from the pandemic, the remaining four stocks on the Top 20 Shorted List were crushed by the restrictions of some medical treatments and the lack of access to facilities either already packed with COVID patients or awaiting a surge in cases.

The shorts may be betting on continued headwinds for these companies until the anticipated COVID vaccines return the healthcare world to some semblance of normalcy.