Pluristem Therapeutics Inc (PSTI)

[skitahoe]

On a compassionate use basis, I would really like to see what happens if a few patients not yet sick enough to go on ventilator were given the drug. I suspect that they'd avoid it completely in most cases. Then I'd like to see it go a step further and give it to newly diagnosed pneumonia patients.

I believe that early intervention would prevent hospitalization of many pneumonia patients. I've had pneumonia a few times in my life and was never hospitalized until the leukemia diagnosis weakened my systems to the point that they don't risk it getting worse, I've twice been hospitalized due to it.

Of course the only way we'll learn the capability of the drug is to try it, and it really should be tried at multiple places in the diseases progression. I cannot say it would start to have benefits even before pneumonia was noted, though perhaps it would. For all I know it would also help cure the common cold, but it would be a rather expensive cure unless only a tiny number of cells had to be dosed. If what's contained in a single vial of PLX-PAD could cure 1000 people with colds, it might very well be marketable in that indication.

Gary