Israel Active

Israel’s Hospitech produces the AnapnoGuard (reported previously) which seals the trachea of intubated patients and protects them against Ventilator Associated Pneumonia. It was in use in China before the coronavirus outbreak and is now in use in 5 Israeli hospitals.

Scientists from Israel’s Technion Institute have developed Liquid Foam Therapy (LIFT). It improves the distribution across the lungs of surfactant, the liquid that coats the surface of alveoli in the lungs,. COVID-19 kills the cells that secrete surfactant, making it harder to breathe.

Six critically ill Israeli coronavirus patients with organ failure are still alive after 1-week’s Pluristem’s PLX cell-therapy in three separate Israeli medical centers. Four show improved respiratory parameters - three of those could soon be weaned off ventilators with two showing clinical recovery.

• Latest – The first critically ill US coronavirus patient has received Pluristem’s treatment .

Italy has approved Opaganib from Israel’s Redhill Biopharma to treat some 160 severe COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory problems at three hospitals in northern Italy. Phase2 tests on 131 US patients were positive and two critically ill Israeli patients .

A 29-year-old coronavirus patient in Ashdod has improved from serious to serious but stable condition, after receiving multiple doses of plasma from a donor who recovered from coronavirus. Another patient who received plasma has also improved.

Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute are working with a UK laboratory and others to develop an anti-viral treatment that targets Protease - a protein essential for coronavirus activity.  Meanwhile, Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists are testing many chemicals against similar proteins.

Technion scientists are using their NanoGhost technology to send NanoGhost stem cells into the lungs. The coronavirus cells then bind with the NanoGhost decoy cells rather than the cells in the lung, thus reducing the ability of the virus to propagate.

Israel’s Sensible Medical has developed a radar-based system that continuously monitors a patient’s lung fluid levels to prevent deterioration. It has already in operation in and a US hospital has bought 20 units. Israel is also about to adopt it.

Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed and implemented a new test for coronavirus infections that is much faster, cheaper and hasn’t the resource issues of current tests. It extracts RNA from swabs as now, but with a magnetic bead-based cleanup process called SPRI.

The many critically ill Israeli coronavirus patients being cured include a couple from Ashkelon aged 90 and 87 who can now celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. Also, Eli Beer, CEO of Israel’s United Hatzalah has awoken from a coma.