Athersys-Partnered Japanese Ischemic Stroke Study Disappoints, Shares Plunge

Athersys Inc's ATHX partner, Healios K.K. has reported topline results for its Japan ischemic stroke study, TREASURE.
The study included patients with moderate to moderate-severe ischemic stroke administered a single dose of MultiStem cells (invimestrocel) or placebo by intravenous infusion within 18-36 hours of the event.
The primary endpoint, Excellent Outcome at 90 days, did not reach statistical significance in this population.
Overall, consistent improvement in essentially all measured functional outcomes over time through one year, supported long-term impact on and continued improvement in the quality of life of treated patients.
The company says that the TREASURE patient population was substantially older than Athersys' MASTERS-1 population with moderately greater stroke severity.
It says that the TREASURE study adds considerable new information about the MultiStem treatment effect in patients 80 years and older, not previously studied in MASTERS-1, and who are expected to represent a limited proportion of subjects in the ongoing MASTERS-2 study.
The results from the TREASURE study patients with the most relevance for the MASTERS-2 study suggest that MASTERS-2 would be expected to have a high probability of achieving success on the primary endpoint.
Price Action: ATHX shares are down 62.9% at $0.28 during the market session on the last check Friday.