Athersys Announces Partnership with Angiotech
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Athersys Inc. has announced that the Addvance division of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has made an investment in the company to support the development of cell-based products for treating cardiovascular disease.
The initial work will focus on applying Athersys' proprietary adult-derived stem cell product, MultiStem™, to treat patients who suffer a heart attack.
"We believe that MultiStem has the potential to significantly enhance the treatment of cardiovascular disease, and, through this partnership with Angiotech, we look forward to exploring a variety of clinical indications in the cardiovascular area, such as peripheral vascular disease and chronic ischemia," said William (B.J.) Lehmann, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Finance for Athersys.
As part of the collaboration, the companies will jointly manage development activities, and will share clinical development costs.
In addition, upon the achievement of certain development and commercialization milestones, Athersys will be eligible to receive milestone payments, and the companies will share profits on all developed products.
After completing pre- clinical studies, it is anticipated that human clinical trials applying MultiStem toward the treatment of myocardial infarction could begin in 2007.
