• Trial was recently awarded $8.7 million grant from the European Horizon 2020 program
• Pluristem plans to use results of trial to achieve marketing approval in both the U.S and
Europe

HAIFA, Israel, Sept. 26, 2017 — Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI) (TASE:PSTI), a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, has today reported the status of its planned Phase III hip fracture study. In previous discussions held with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency (EMA), the company received positive feedback on the proposed study design and endpoints of its Phase III trial in PLX-PAD cells as a treatment for muscle recovery following arthroplasty for hip fracture. This trial was recently awarded an $8.7 million grant by the Horizon 2020 program, the European Union’s largest research and innovation program.

The proposed Phase III trial is intended to support marketing authorization and will be a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with approximately 180 patients enrolled in clinical sites across the U.S. and Europe. Patients will be injected intramuscularly with 150 million PLX-PAD cells during arthroplasty for hip fracture. The primary endpoint for the trial will be the change of Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) from baseline to six months after surgery. Additional endpoints may include objective measurements of muscle strength and muscle volume.

This Phase III trial follows positive results from a Phase I/II trial which demonstrated significant muscle regeneration when PLX-PAD cells were injected following arthroplasty, including a 300% improvement in muscle volume (p=0.004) and a 500% (p=0.0067) boost in muscle force when observed six months after surgery compared to the control group. [Read more…]