A patent has been granted by the UAE’s Ministry of Economy for the development of an innovative and promising treatment for coronavirus infections using stem cells, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Friday.
The treatment was developed by a team of doctors and researchers at the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Center, ADSCC, and involves extracting stem cells from the patient’s own blood and reintroducing them after activating them. The patent was granted for the innovative method in which the stem cells are collected, WAM said.
The treatment was administered in the UAE to 73 COVID-19 patients who recovered after they were successfully treated by inhaling the treatment, which had been nebulized into a fine mist, into their lungs.
The treatment has successfully undergone the initial phase of clinical trials, demonstrating its safety. None of the patients who have received the treatment reported immediate adverse effects and there have been no interactions found with the conventional treatment protocols for COVID-19 patients, WAM said.
Trials to demonstrate the efficacy of the treatment are ongoing and are expected to be completed in a couple of weeks, it added.
According to WAM, the treatment has been given to patients along with the conventional medical intervention and will continue to be applied as an adjunct to established treatment protocols rather than as a replacement.
Non-pharmacological interventions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as staying at home, social distancing and infection prevention and control measures remain necessary to reduce the burden of the disease on the healthcare system, said WAM.
