Well, you got picked up by Xinhua as well.

Xinhua News Agency or New China News Agency is the official state-run press agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua is the biggest and most influential media organization in China, as well as the largest news agency in the world in terms of correspondents worldwide.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-04/24/c_139004793.htm

Stem cell drug shows promise for ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients

Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-24 15:39:24|Editor: huaxia

SYDNEY, April 24 (Xinhua) -- An Australian drug manufacturer has claimed success treating COVID-19 patients who were dependent on ventilators, revealing that seven out of 12 seriously ill patients were discharged from hospital after receiving an experimental stem cell product.

The study involved 12 ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients with moderate/severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and was conducted at New York City's Mt Sinai Hospital in the United States - Aussie company, Mesoblast said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Friday.

According to the statement, nine out of the 12 subjects successfully came off ventilator support, a median of 10 days after being treated with two intravenous infusions of Mesoblast's allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell product candidate named remestemcel-L.

In comparison, it claimed that ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients at a second major referral hospital network in New York City recorded only a 12 percent survival rate during the same period.

However, it is unclear whether the stem cell product was the sole cause of their recovery because the patients received a variety of other experimental agents prior to remestemcel-L.

Mesoblast Chief Executive Dr. Silviu Itescu said the results showed the drug's ability to prevent an inflammatory response called a cytokine storm, which is an overreaction by the immune system to COVID-19 and has caused many deaths among patients.

"The remarkable clinical outcomes in these critically ill patients continue to underscore the potential benefits of remestemcel-L as an anti-inflammatory agent in cytokine release syndromes associated with high mortality, including acute graft versus host disease and COVID-19 ARDS," Itescu said.

"We intend to rapidly complete the randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2/3 trial in COVID-19 ARDS patients to rigorously confirm that remestemcel-L improves survival in these critically ill patients." Enditem

Whilst no doubt a run on positive result indications & news, it is always worth tempering it as well for balance.


https://247wallst.com/healthcare-business/2020/04/24/is-this-mesoblast-move-overrated/

Is This Mesoblast Move Overrated?

Chris Lange

April 24, 2020 10:50 am

Mesoblast Ltd. (NASDAQ: MESO) shares more than doubled on Friday after the company provided an update on its COVID-19 treatment. While the numbers from this update are impressive, there could be some issues with the study.

Specifically, the company announced 83% survival in ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients (10/12) with moderate/severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) treated during the period March-April 2020 with two intravenous infusions of Mesoblast’s allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell product candidate remestemcel-L within the first five days.

Also, 75% (9/12) have successfully come off ventilator support at a median of 10 days. At this time, seven have been discharged from the hospital. Patients received a variety of experimental agents prior to remestemcel-L. All patients were treated under an emergency Investigational New Drug (IND) application or expanded access protocol at New York City’s Mt. Sinai hospital.

Note that these numbers are very impressive in terms of patients getting off ventilators. However, the sample size for this study is incredibly small: only 12 patients. Note that small sample sizes don’t necessarily provide accurate statistics, a single standard deviation could turn this study negative quickly. While the numbers are positive, they should be taken with a grain of salt.

Dr. Silviu Itescu, Mesoblast CEO, commented:

The remarkable clinical outcomes in these critically ill patients continue to underscore the potential benefits of remestemcel-L as an anti-inflammatory agent in cytokine release syndromes associated with high mortality, including acute graft versus host disease and COVID-19 ARDS. We intend to rapidly complete the randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2/3 trial in COVID-19 ARDS patients to rigorously confirm that remestemcel-L improves survival in these critically ill patients.

Mesoblast stock traded up about 156% to $16.50 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $3.12 to $20.57. The consensus price target is $13.96.