SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 26, 2013) - Jason Kolbert, Managing Director of Maxim Group, stated in an interview with The Life Sciences Report, "Mesoblast Ltd. (ASX: MSB) (PINKSHEETS: MBLTY) did something very interesting in its phase 2 human clinical trial for DDD. It recruited steroid-refractory patients -- people who had already failed steroids for their pain. Therefore, the fact that cells showed a good result in these patients is very significant. We think the long-term use of steroids does nothing toward healing disc disease. Cell therapy opens up an entire new treatment paradigm in back pain."

The Life Sciences Report: "Does cell therapy have to be superior to current therapies, steroids in particular? Isn't it enough that cells won't cause steroid necrosis in the spine?"

Jason Kolbert: "Mesoblast went around the current therapy issue entirely by enrolling steroid-refractory patients in its trial. If it can demonstrate that cell therapy works in patients who have failed steroids, the company is dealing in a niche market, essentially an unmet medical need. That's huge.

Going forward, once Mesoblast has FDA approval, how would it extend the label for frontline usage? That's the question. Would it have to run a control arm against steroids and show noninferiority? That's more likely than being required to show superiority, particularly if it occurs in a sequence where it has already shown utility in steroid-refractory patients. That is the brilliance of the Mesoblast strategy."

Continue reading this interview with Jason Kolbert of Maxim Group: "Is Cell Therapy the 'Future of Medicine'?"

Read The Life Sciences Report's recent interview with Mesoblast Ltd.'s CEO, Silvio Itesco: "Mesoblast Ltd. Targets Success in the Degenerative Disc Space."

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Is Cell Therapy the 'Future of Medicine'? The Life Sciences Report Interview With Jason Kolbert of Maxim Group

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