** U.S.-listed shares of Australia-based Mesoblast MSB.AX rise 44.2% to $17.67 premarket

** The U.S. Food and Drug Administration late on Wednesday approved co's cell therapy for treating graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)

** The therapy, branded as Ryoncil, is approved to treat pediatric patients aged two months and older whose GVHD symptoms have not responded to standard steroid therapy

** GVHD is a complication that might occur after a cell transplant, where the donated stem cells attack the recipient's cells, mistaking them for an unfamiliar threat

** Up to last close, stock rose ~457% YTD

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru)

((Mariam.ESunny@thomsonreuters.com;))