It’s only been tested on a very small number of COVID patients. But those people were all in exceedingly bad shape, and they all survived.

From the Jerusalem Post:

The patients were treated at three different Israeli medical centers for one week under the country’s compassionate use program and were suffering from acute respiratory failure and inflammatory complications associated with COVID-19. Four of the patients also demonstrated failure of other organ systems, including cardiovascular and kidney failure.

Not only have all the patients survived, according to Pluristem, but four of them showed improvement in respiratory parameters and three of them are in the advanced stages of weaning from ventilators. Moreover, two of the patients with preexisting medical conditions are showing clinical recovery in addition to the respiratory improvement.

It’s only a few people, but those are dramatic results because some of those people would ordinarily be expected to die.

Here’s a description of the treatment:

According to Pluristem, the PLX cells are “allogeneic mesenchymal-like cells that have immunomodulatory properties.” Translated, that means that they harness our own immune system’s regulatory T cells and M2 macrophages to prevent overactivation of the immune system. This helps us avoid the symptoms of pneumonia and pneumonitis from becoming fatal.

More details here:

PLX cells are available off-the-shelf and once commercialized, can be manufactured in large scale quantities, offering a key advantage in addressing a global pandemic…

For Pluristem’s compassionate use program, all the seven patients approved for treatment with PLX cells exhibited, prior to treatment, respiratory failure due to ARDS, which is a major cause of mortality and required mechanical ventilation in an ICU. Four of the patients also demonstrated failure of other organ systems, including cardiovascular and kidney failure, indicating critical disease and poor prognosis. Six patients completed one week follow up, while the seventh patient was treated on April 5 2020. Preliminary data following treatment with PLX cells demonstrated a 100% survival rate. Four out of the six (66%) patients who completed one week follow up demonstrated improvement in respiratory parameters. Three out of the six (50%) patients who completed one week follow up are in advanced stages of weaning from ventilators. Pluristem now plans to apply for initiation of a multinational regulated clinical trial program for the potential use of PLX cells in the treatment of patients suffering from complications associated with COVID-19.

A study needs to be fast-tracked in the US.