BioTime Announces Closing of Acquisition of Asterias Biotherapeutics Creating Leading Cell Therapy Company
March 11 2019 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Company Will Advance Three Clinical Stage
Product Candidates Addressing Significant Unmet Needs in Dry-AMD,
Spinal Cord Injury, and Immuno-Oncology
BioTime, Inc. (NYSE American and TASE: BTX), today announced the
closing of its previously reported acquisition of Asterias
Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Asterias), whereby BioTime has acquired
through a merger, all of the remaining outstanding common stock of
Asterias which was not previously owned by BioTime. As a result of
the acquisition, Asterias became a wholly-owned subsidiary of
BioTime and the operations of BioTime and Asterias have combined.
Notably, 98% of BioTime votes cast and 96% of Asterias votes cast
were in favor of the merger. BioTime is now advancing three
clinical stage product candidates for degenerative retinal
diseases, neurological conditions associated with demyelination,
and aiding the body in detecting and combating cancer. In
connection with the closing, two members of the Asterias Board of
Directors, Don Bailey, the former Chairman of Asterias’ Board and
Michael Mulroy, the former Chief Executive Officer of Asterias will
be serving on the BioTime Board of Directors. BioTime will continue
to be led by the Company’s current management team.
“This acquisition is a key step in our plan to turn BioTime into
a pioneering and leading cell therapy company, with an innovative
and diversified pipeline which we believe can significantly impact
disease areas with groundbreaking therapeutic approaches,” stated
Brian M. Culley, Chief Executive Officer of BioTime. “Importantly,
we expect to enjoy significant financial synergies from this merger
as we already have a cGMP manufacturing facility in Jerusalem,
Israel, which has successfully produced our projected needs for the
next clinical trial of OpRegen® and which now can turn to process
development and scale-up activities for the former Asterias assets.
We also look forward to continuing our partnerships with notable
institutions such as CIRM, the California Institute for
Regenerative Medicine, and Cancer Research UK, to support the
clinical development of the OPC1 and VAC2 programs we added to our
pipeline. We further believe that greater involvement with patient
and advocacy groups will be helpful toward increasing our value and
visibility in the disease communities we aim to serve.”
BioTime’s Pipeline
- OpRegen® - a retinal
pigment epithelium cell replacement therapy currently being tested
in a Phase I/IIa multicenter clinical trial for the treatment of
advanced dry-age-related macular degeneration (dry-AMD) with
geographic atrophy. OpRegen® has been granted Fast Track
designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA).
- OPC1 - an oligodendrocyte
progenitor cell therapy currently being tested in a Phase I/IIa
multicenter clinical trial (the “SciStar Study”) for the treatment
of acute spinal cord injuries (SCI). The clinical development of
OPC1 has been partially funded by a $14.3 million grant from the
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. OPC1 has received
Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for the
treatment of acute SCI and has been granted Orphan Drug Designation
by the FDA.
- VAC2 - an allogeneic
(non-patient-specific or “off-the-shelf”) cancer immunotherapy of
antigen-presenting dendritic cells currently being tested in a
Phase I clinical trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) fully
funded and conducted by Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest
independent cancer research charity.
Following the closing of the merger, BioTime has 151,579,482
million shares of common stock issued and outstanding with prior
BioTime stockholders collectively owning approximately 84% of the
combined company, and prior Asterias stockholders collectively
owning approximately 16% of the combined company.
BioTime’s financial advisor in the transaction was Maxim Group
LLC. Raymond James acted as financial advisor to Asterias. Cooley
LLP served as legal counsel to BioTime and Dentons LLP served as
legal counsel to Asterias.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing new
cellular therapies for degenerative retinal diseases, neurological
conditions associated with demyelination, and aiding the body in
detecting and combating cancer. BioTime’s programs are based on the
Company’s proprietary cell-based therapy platform which is utilized
to develop and manufacture specialized, terminally-differentiated
human cells from its pluripotent and progenitor cell starting
materials. These differentiated cells are developed either to
replace or support cells that are dysfunctional or absent due to
degenerative disease or traumatic injury, or administered as a
means of helping the body mount an effective immune response to
cancer. BioTime has three cell therapy programs in clinical
development. OpRegen® is a retinal pigment epithelium cell
replacement therapy in Phase 2 development for the treatment of
dry-AMD, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world.
OPC1 is an oligodendrocyte progenitor cell therapy in Phase 2
development for the treatment of spinal cord injury. VAC2 is an
allogeneic cancer immunotherapy in Phase 1 development for the
treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in partnership with
Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer research
charity. For more information, please visit www.biotimeinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release are
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are
not historical fact including, but not limited to statements that
contain words such as “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,”
“expects,” “estimates” should also be considered forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the
results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such
should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that
affect the business of BioTime, Inc. and its subsidiaries,
particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in
more detail in the “Risk Factors” section of BioTime’s Annual
Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (copies of
which may be obtained at www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and
developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change.
BioTime specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to
update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of
changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this
release, except as required by applicable law.
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BioTime Inc. IRIoana C. Hone(ir@biotimeinc.com)(510)
871-4188
Solebury Trout IRGitanjali Jain
Ogawa(Gogawa@troutgroup.com)(646) 378-2949
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