Athersys Inc., the Cleveland regenerative medicine company, has agreed to license its horse, dog and cat health assets to Ardent Animal Health.
Lexington, Kentucky-based Ardent, a biotechnology company that is developing regenerative medicine and cancer therapies for animals, has agreed to license Athersys' Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cell (MAPC) technology for non-human mammal applications in the United States, Athersys said in a statement.
Financial terms of the licensing deal were not disclosed. However, Athersys said it expects to receive an initial licensing fee, milestone payments throughout the regulatory and product approval process, and "double-digit royalties on commercial sales" in exchange for granting Ardent an exclusive license.
Athersys said it also has granted Ardent rights of first refusal as the exclusive distributor for Athersys' cryogenic storage system, the Secure Integrated Freezer Unit, in the United States animal health space.
Ardent already offers a stem cell therapy called Acti-Stem to treat arthritis mostly in dogs, according to its website.
"This agreement recognizes the progress we've made in preclinical research and manufacturing of MAPC for animal health and provides Ardent a solid foundation to build on,” said Dan Camardo, CEO of Athersys, in a statement.
Ardent plans to use its licensed Athersys technology to "advance stem cell therapy for joint disease and other areas of unmet need in animal health," said Thomas Masterson, Ardent's president, in a statement.
"We look forward to this partnership with Athersys as we develop innovative and life-changing treatments for animals," Masterson said.
The licensing agreement comes at a crucial time for Athersys, which has been looking to license or co-commercialize its adult stem cell technologies to help solve a serious cash shortage.
Athersys has been working since 1994 to develop MultiStem, an off-the-shelf therapy derived from adult stem cells, to treat some stroke, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and traumatic injury patients.
Several challenges, including dwindling cash, loss of a $100 million equity purchase agreement, struggles with meeting Nasdaq listing requirements for its stock and some disappointing clinical study results from Japanese development partner Healios K.K. have threatened the company's existence over the last 18 months.
Athersys recently restructured more than $30 million in current and future debt with its primary contract manufacturer to buy time to raise more money from investors and wring costs from its operations, an effort the company began in June 2022 by cutting 70% of its workforce.
Shares of Athersys (Nasdaq: ATHX) traded today and yesterday at about 44 cents.
