An Israeli COVID drug can also reduce inflammatory overreaction seen in cancer patients treated with immunotherapy, the Israeli clinical-stage biotech company Bonus BioGroup announced Thursday.
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Bonus BioGroup has recently completed a preclinical trial demonstrating the efficacy of its drug MesenCure (developed for the treatment of severe COVID patients) in reducing life-threatening inflammatory overreaction, seen in patients with cytokine release syndrome (CRS).
This kind of inflammatory overreaction develops in up to 78% of cancer patients treated with biological immunotherapies that galvanize the immune system to fight cancer, and in patients transplanted with blood-forming stem cells.
Experts estimate that by 2027, in the United States alone, more than 18,000 patients will suffer from an inflammatory overreaction following biological treatments for cancer and could subsequently develop a life-threatening condition.
Dr. Shai Meretzki, CEO of Bonus BioGroup, "The fact that MesenCure may also help oncological patients is an important milestone in our journey to realize Bonus BioGroup's vision to become a world leader in cellular therapy. This is a major step to position Bonus BioGroup as an essential player in the field of Oncology, in addition to regenerative medicine and tissue engineering."
Bonus BioGroup is also continuing its clinical development of the drug MesenCure to treat severe COVID patients towards launching a Phase III clinical trial in leading US hospitals.
