Athersys Shares Jump After MultiStem Cell Therapy Data Published In Medical Journal

Athersys Inc ATHX announced that a manuscript reporting data from its MUST-ARDS clinical trial have been published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Intensive Care Medicine. 

• MUST-ARDS Phase 1/2 trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of MultiStem (invimestrocel) cell therapy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). 
• MultiStem treatment was well-tolerated, with no allergic or serious adverse reactions associated with the cell therapy in any cohort through one year of follow-up.
• Notably, higher median ICU-free and ventilator-free days (VFDs) were seen among MultiStem cell recipients than the placebo group at the 28-day benchmark.
• Lower all-cause mortality in the MultiStem-treatment group was observed compared to the placebo group;
• Quality of Life outcomes showed greater recovery among survivors who received MultiStem treatment than those who received placebo.
• Decreases in several pro-inflammatory plasma biomarkers were observed in the cell treatment group through Day 7 compared with increases among placebo recipients.
• In addition, preliminary analyses (not reported in the published manuscript) of the data pooled from the MUST-ARDS study and the recently completed ONE-BRIDGE study further support the potential clinically meaningful benefit of MultiStem for ARDS. 
• Analysis revealed an estimate of 5.4 greater VFDs among MultiStem recipients compared to the control group. 
• Price Action: ATHX shares are up 7.35% at $1.09 during the market session on the last check Tuesday.