MANILA – Malacañang on Friday hailed The Medical City for its mesenchymal stem treatment for pneumonia patients with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“The Palace commends The Medical City for its mesenchymal stem cell therapy program for patients with Covid-19 pneumonia,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press statement.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that are being clinically explored as a new therapeutic for treating a variety of immune-mediated diseases, the Washington-based National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) said in its official website.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, some clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of MSC therapy in treating infected individuals have begun.
Currently, there are no approved MSC-based approaches for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 patients, the NCBI said.
Roque, nevertheless, said the Duterte government backs any move that would help Covid-19 patients recover from the disease.
“The Duterte Administration fully supports researches and/or practices that would ease the sufferings of patients from Covid-19. We fervently pray that the aforesaid program would continue to show promising results,” Roque said.
As of Thursday, the Philippines has recorded 74,390 Covid-19 infections.
Around 24,383 individuals have already recovered from the highly-contagious disease, while 1,871 Covid-19 patients have died.
Roque assured the public anew that the government is doing its best to stop the further transmission of Covid-19 in the country.
“The battle against Covid-19 remains our focus. Let us stand united in defeating this enemy so together we can heal and recover as one,” he said. (PNA)
