Athersys Awarded $3.6 Million in Grant Funding For Stem Cell Product Development

Funding supports advancement for treatment of neurological and cardiovascular conditions & advanced manufacturing platform

03-Feb-2012 - USA

Athersys, Inc. announced grant funding aggregating $3.6 million to further advance its MultiStem® product programs and cell therapy platform. Specifically, Athersys was awarded a SBIR Fast-Track grant of up to $1.9 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to develop MultiStem for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In addition, Athersys’ subsidiary based in Belgium, ReGenesys BVBA, was awarded a $1.2 million (€0.9 million) grant from the Belgium’s Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) to further develop cell therapy formulations and manufacturing capabilities. The company has also been awarded funding recently to work in other areas, such as using MultiStem to treat chronic cardiovascular disease.

“These grant awards provide us with additional funding to support further development of MultiStem in specific therapeutic areas, as well as enhance our manufacturing platform,” said Dr. Gil Van Bokkelen, Athersys Chairman & CEO. “Historically, we have been very successful at obtaining this type of funding, which reflects our commitment to outstanding science and technology development, and development of innovative new therapies.”

The work under the NINDS grant to develop MultiStem for the treatment of TBI will be conducted in collaboration with researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School. The research program will include preclinical safety and efficacy studies required to support an Investigational New Drug (IND) application and the clinical investigation of MultiStem treatment of TBI.

The IWT grant will fund a product and process development program undertaken in Belgium by ReGenesys, Athersys’ affiliate. A principal focus of these efforts will be the continued development of serum-free formulations for the manufacture of MultiStem and related cell therapy products. ReGenesys researchers will collaborate with researchers from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven, as well as certain corporate partners to complete the program.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/136326/athersys-awarded-3-6-million-in-grant-funding-for-stem-cell-product-development.html