Pluri Inc., formerly Pluristem Therapeutics, is an Israeli company engaged in the development of human
placenta
The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mate ...
l adherent
stromal cell
Stromal cells, or mesenchymal stromal cells, are differentiating cells found in abundance within bone marrow but can also be seen all around the body. Stromal cells can become connective tissue cells of any organ, for example in the uterine mucosa ...
s for commercial use in disease treatment. According to the company's website, it extracts adult
stem cells
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
exclusively from postnatal placentas.
Corporate history
Pluristem was founded in 2001 by Shai Meretzki of the
Technion, who made use of a stem cell patent which was developed during his Ph.D. studies at The Rappaport Faculty Of Medicine, Technion, under the supervision of Dr. Shosh Merchav, together with Professors Dov Zipori and Avinoam Kadouri from the
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...
.
In 2003, the
NASDAQ-listed shell company A1 Software acquired all shares and patents belonging to Pluristem and changed its name to Pluristem Life Systems. In 2007 the name was changed again, this time to Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.
Pluristem's shares are traded on the NASDAQ exchange and the
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE; ; colloquially known as The Bursa, ) is Israel's only public stock exchange and a public company that has been traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange since August 1, 2019. Legally, the exchange is regulated by ...
, as well as on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (german: link=no, Börse Frankfurt, former German name – FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time).
Organisation
Loca ...
.
In December 2020, the
Genesis Prize and Start-up Nation Central named Pluri as one of the winners in a competition among Israeli high-tech and biotechnology companies.
In July 2022, the company changed its name from Pluristem Therapeutics to Pluri Inc. and its ticker symbol to PLUR from PSTI.
Products
Pluristem is in the process of clinically testing the use of its PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells in Phase I, Phase II and Phase III trials. A Phase III trial of PLX-(PAD)-
peripheral arterial disease
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an abnormal narrowing of arteries other than those that supply the heart or brain. When narrowing occurs in the heart, it is called coronary artery disease, and in the brain, it is called cerebrovascular disea ...
cells in the treatment of critical limb
ischemia has been cleared to start enrolling patients by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Phase III trial has also been cleared by regulators in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Pluristem has completed enrollment of 172 patients in January 2017 for a multinational Phase II clinical trial of its PLX-PAD treatment pertaining to intermittent claudication.
Results from the study suggest that PLX-R18 is safe and may significantly improve outcomes after bone marrow failure or hematopoietic cell transplantation. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
has also cleared Pluristem to commence patient enrollment in a Phase I trial of its PLX-R18 cells to treat insufficient hematopoietic recovery following bone marrow transplant.
PLX-R18 were initially developed with Professor Raphael Gorodetsky at
Hadassah Hospital for the treatment of acute radiation syndrome and enhancement of bone marrow regeneration. The U.S. National Institutes of Health is currently evaluating Pluristem's PLX-R18 cells as a treatment for acute radiation syndrome. The dose finding portion of the study was successfully concluded and data showed that PLX-R18 treated subjects had an 85% survival rate compared to the placebo group which had a 50% survival rate. PLX-R18 can serve as a tool for governments to protect their citizens against potential exposure to nuclear radiation.
In May 2012, Pluristem reported that its experimental PLacental eXpanded cells were
injected into the muscles of a 7-year-old Romanian girl undergoing treatment for
bone marrow aplasia disease at the
Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...
in Jerusalem. The girl had undergone two allogenic stem cell transplants since being admitted in August 2011, both of which failed to improve her condition. Two months thereafter, with the patient's condition deteriorating rapidly, the Director of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Cell Therapy and Transplantation Research Center at Hadassah felt that all available options had been exhausted and turned to Pluristem's PLX cells. The
Helsinki committee at Israel's
Ministry of Health approved the procedure under
compassionate use
Expanded access or compassionate use is the use of an unapproved drug or medical device under special forms of investigational new drug applications (IND) or IDE application for devices, outside of a clinical trial, by people with serious or life ...
. According to Pluristem CEO Zami Aberman, it was the first time ever that stem cells were injected into the muscle rather than into the body's blood system. Pluristem announced that the treatment led to a significant increase in the girl's red cells, white cells and platelets, effecting a reverse in her condition. She was released from the hospital soon after Pluristem's announcement.
In September 2012 Pluristem reported saving the life of a third bone marrow disease patient using its PLacental eXpanded cell treatment, again at Jerusalem's
Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...
and again under the terms of compassionate use. The 45-year-old patient suffered from
acute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with normal blood cell production. Symptoms may inclu ...
and
pancytopenia
Pancytopenia is a medical condition in which there is significant reduction in the number of almost all blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, monocytes, lymphocytes, etc.).
If only two parameters from the complete blood coun ...
, and his condition was determined to be life-threatening. After two intramuscular injections of Pluristem's PLX cells, the patient's condition improved significantly and he was released from the hospital. This event has been used as a supporting reference to the medical potential of the PLX cells.
In January 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Pluristem Therapeutics the go-ahead to move forward with its innovative treatment approach for hematopoietic disorders. Pluristem was given permission to begin its Phase I trial of PLX-R18 cells to treat incomplete hematopoietic recovery following Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. The clinical trial is expected to begin in the coming months.
In 2020 Pluristem began treating
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
patients with placenta cells known as PLX.
On May 8, 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Pluristem's application to conduct a
Phase II study of its PLX cells (as described by HospiMedica.com, "PLX cells are
allogeneic
Allotransplant (''allo-'' meaning "other" in Greek) is the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs to a recipient from a genetically non-identical donor of the same species. The transplant is called an allograft, allogeneic transplant, o ...
mesenchymal
Mesenchyme () is a type of loosely organized animal embryonic connective tissue of undifferentiated cells that give rise to most tissues, such as skin, blood or bone. The interactions between mesenchyme and epithelium help to form nearly every ...
-like cells that have
immunomodulatory
Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...
properties that induce the immune system’s natural regulatory
T cells
A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell re ...
and M2
macrophages
Macrophages (abbreviated as M φ, MΦ or MP) ( el, large eaters, from Greek ''μακρός'' (') = large, ''φαγεῖν'' (') = to eat) are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs and digests pathogens, such as cancer ce ...
, and thus may prevent or reverse the dangerous overactivation of the immune system. Previous pre-clinical findings of PLX cells revealed therapeutic benefit in the treatment of severe Covid-19 cases").
Collaboration and grants
Since 2007, Pluri has been engaged in a collaborative research agreement with the
Charité – Berlin University of Medicine.
Pluri has been awarded several grants from the
Israel Innovation Authority
The Israel Innovation Authority previously known as the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) ( he, לשכת המדען הראשי, lishkat Ha-madʿan ha-rashi) of Israel's Ministry of Economy is the support arm of the Israeli government, charged w ...
(IIA), formerly named the Office of the Chief Scientist.
Since 2016, the European Union's
Horizon 2020 program has awarded millions of
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s in grants to Pluri's clinical and research programs, including its Phase III study to treat
critical limb ischemia (CLI) and its Phase III study to treat muscle injury following surgery for hip fracture.
Later in 2016, Pluristem announced it had partnered with Japan's
Fukushima Medical University to test its placental-derived cellular therapy for radiation treatment and has been asked to join the United States
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIAID's ...
program.
Since 2020, Pluri has been part of the
CRISPR-IL consortium, funded by the Israel Innovation Authority. The partnership seeks to develop genetically edited PLX cells tailored for treatment of indications with unmet needs.
In January 2022, Pluri announced a collaboration with Israel's largest food producer,
Tnuva
Tnuva, or Tenuvah, ( he, תנובה, ''fruit'' or ''produce'') is an Israeli food creation and marketing company. The company holds in Israel a significant market share in the field of drinking milk production, dairy products and its marketing. ...
, to produce sustainable cultured food.
In recognition of their partnership, Pluri and Tnuva participated in the Nasdaq closing bell ceremony in March 2022.
The company intends to present its technological proof of concept in 2022, with the goal of launching its first raw
cultured meat
Cultured meat (also known by other names) is meat produced by culturing animal cells ''in vitro''. It is a form of cellular agriculture.
Cultured meat is produced using tissue engineering techniques pioneered in regenerative medicine. Jason M ...
product in 2023.
See also
*
List of Israeli companies quoted on the Nasdaq
Israel had more companies listed in 2012 on the NASDAQ stock exchange than any country outside the United States, save China. As of 2011, some sixty Israeli companies are listed on the Nasdaq. 2000 was the year that saw the most new Israeli listin ...
References
External links
*
{{Israel NASDAQ
2001 establishments in Israel
Companies established in 2001
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Biotechnology companies of Israel
Economy of Haifa
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology