Pluristem gets $2.4 Million grant from Israel

Pluristem Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PSTI; TASE:PLTR) has received approval for a $2.4 million grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist within the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor to be used to cover R&D expenses for the period March, 2011 to February, 2012.

Pluristem develops placenta-based cell therapies. The company’s patented PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells drug delivery platform releases a cocktail of therapeutic proteins in response to 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.

Data from two Phase 1 safety and dose determining clinical trials indicate that Pluristem’s first PLX product candidate, PLX-PAD, is safe and potentially effective for the treatment of end-stage peripheral artery disease. Pluristem’s pre-clinical animal models have demonstrated PLX cells are also potentially effective in treating nerve pain and muscle damage when administered locally and in inflammatory bowel disease, MS and stroke when administered systemically.