Israel’s Health Ministry on Wednesday confirmed that several hospitals around the county will begin treating Corona patients in critical condition with the new Israeli drug MesenCure which was developed by Bonus Biogroup.
The company’s website reported that “Bonus BioGroup has developed a procedure to specifically prime the ASCs and to enhance the cells’ immunomodulatory potential while maintaining their safety. In preclinical studies, Bonus’ COVID-19 therapy MesenCure was shown to attenuate the hyper-inflammatory response in the lungs, as well as to promote the healing of the injured lung tissue.”
The health ministry’s decision followed experiments of the new drug at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, which reported good results: 14 out of 16 seriously ill patients who were treated with the drug were discharged from the hospital.
Rambam Hospital reported that the MesenCure treatment period is 4 days, and most patients were released to their homes on the fifth day. The health ministry will announce in the coming days which hospitals will be included in the next phase of testing the drug.
Dr. Shadi Hamoud, who led the experiment at Rambam Hospital, told News 12: “This is an excellent development because our experience has been that if we discover the severe patients on time then the chance of rescuing them increases dramatically with this drug. I am convinced that at least some of the patients we treated with the drug would have died without it.”
The drug is made from mesenchymal stem cells, derived from fat tissue donated by healthy donors. The term “mesenchymal” refers to cells that develop into connective tissue, blood vessels, and lymphatic tissue. It encompasses multipotent cells derived from other non-marrow tissues, such as the placenta, umbilical cord blood, fat tissue, adult muscle, corneal stroma, or the dental pulp of baby teeth.
The mesenchymal cells increase the efficiency of the patient’s body cells while maintaining their safety. Once injected into the patient’s body, the mesenchymal cells reach the lungs and work to reduce the inflammation caused by infection with the coronavirus. The drug also helps in tissue regeneration and the relief of various respiratory symptoms, Including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).