Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NasdaqCM: PSTI; TASE: PLTR) is a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies. The company's patented PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells drug delivery platform releases a cocktail of therapeutic proteins in response to a variety of local and systemic inflammatory diseases. PLX cells are grown using the company’s proprietary 3D micro-environmental technology and are an off-the-shelf product that requires no tissue matching or immune-suppression treatment prior to administration. PLX-PAD comprehensive clinical development plan has been recognized by both the EMA and FDA, targeting a sub-population of 20-million patients of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) market.
The Company announced that "cardiac function in a diabetic-induced diastolic dysfunction in animals improved following PLacental eXpanded (PLX cells) administration. The study was conducted as part of the European Commission's Seventh Framework Program (FP7) in collaboration with Professor Doctor Carsten Tschöpe and his staff at the Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin-Bradenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin, Germany. Dr. Tschöpe is also a member of the Translational Research Committee of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology."
"Currently, there are limited treatment options for diastolic dysfunction and even fewer options for diabetic induced diastolic dysfunction. This study holds promise that PLX cells might be able to inhibit diabetic induced diastolic dysfunction progression as well as possibly repair the existing damage, hypotheses that will be further explored in future studies."
Chairman and CEO of Pluristem Zami Aberman commented,
"As we demonstrated last week with the announcement that our cells successfully treated the seven years old patient suffering from aplastic bone marrow disease, our strategy is to develop a minimally invasive cell therapy solution that can be used to treat a wide range of life-threatening diseases. Our initial testing of a treatment for diastolic heart disease opens a new potential indication where our cells can be used and potentially positions Pluristem as a "first-line of defense" for diastolic dysfunction. Based on these studies as well as the previously announced acute myocardial infarction data, and with the support of the European Commission's Seventh Framework Program, we were able to determine that our PLX cells can become an important treatment for various cardiac indications and we look forward to quickly moving from these initial studies towards human trials."