Peripheral artery disease (PAD), long known as a silent killer that often goes undiagnosed past the point for effective control and treatment, is a medical market coming into its own.

While drugs for heart disease have taken center stage for decades, PAD, intimately linked to coronary and carotid vascular build-up, is finally being recognized by big pharmaceutical players. Earlier this week, AstraZeneca ( AZN ), announced plans to take its heart drug Brilinta to the multi-billion dollar growth industry of PAD. Source: http://bit.ly/AZNStudy

It appears, however, that clinically powerful Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. ( PSTI ) will be there first, with an entirely different, personalized approach to PAD based not on a life-long pill with onerous side effects, but instead with a patient-friendly, highly effective cell therapy.

Pluristem has already obtained the FDA`s permission for Phase II trials; far ahead of AstraZeneca which will embark on Phase I, and as a next regulatory step, announced the hiring of the prestigious CPC Clinical Research organization to manage the studies.

Further, it appears Pluristem Therapeutics` trials need not be enormous, since the FDA recognizes the strong potential of this treatment based on compelling Phase I data. Clearly a new approach to PAD is on the way to being realized, with the medical community ripe for a change in not just managing, but healing this deadly disease.

About The Analyst: Sharon di Stephano

Sharon di Stefano has spent 20 years as a healthcare analyst, beginning her career at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. specializing in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, healthcare information technology, and biopharmacology. Ms. di Stefano had also served as Senior Venture Officer for the Edison Innovation Fund, implemented through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority that provided funding for early-stage life sciences companies.

Ms. di Stefano received a Masters of Science degree, in Business, from Johns Hopkins University in 1986, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware in 1984 with a minor in biology.