Stock Alert: Mesoblast To Take A Shot At Coronavirus; Stock Up 28%

(RTTNews) - Shares of Mesoblast Ltd. (MESO) are rising above 25% in pre-market today, after the company announced that it plans to evaluate its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell or MSC product candidate remestemcel-L in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States, Australia, China and Europe.

The company is in active discussions with various government and regulatory authorities, medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies to implement these activities.

Recently published results from an investigator-initiated clinical study conducted in China reported that allogeneic MSCs cured or significantly improved functional outcomes in all seven treated patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Remestemcel-L is being studied in numerous clinical trials across several inflammatory conditions, and this product candidate is currently being reviewed by the United States Food and Drug Administration or FDA for potential approval in the treatment of children with steroid-refractory aGVHD.

The stock has been trading between $41.7 and $10.88 in the past one year, and closed Monday's trade at $6.16, down 72 cents or 10.54%. Trading volume increased to 182K versus an average volume of 85K shares. MESO is currently trading at $7.90, up $1.74 or 28.35% in the pre-market session.