Workforce reduction up to 70%
Conference call today at 5:00 p.m.
ET
Athersys, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHX) today announced a corporate
restructuring plan to reduce costs and prioritize its lead clinical
programs. In connection with the restructuring, the Company is
reducing its workforce up to 70%, with the majority of the
reduction expected to be completed by the end of June 2022.
Reducing the workforce is an initial step the Company is taking to
reduce its cost structure and become more attractive to both
financial and strategic partners.
As part of the restructuring plan, the Company also announced
changes to its executive team. Mr. William (B.J.) Lehmann,
President and Chief Operating Officer, left the Company on May 31,
2022. Dr. John Harrington, Executive Vice President and Chief
Scientific Officer, and Mr. Ivor Macleod, Chief Financial Officer,
will be leaving the Company on June 30, 2022.
“The decision to realign our resources and restructure our
organization was difficult but will help us focus on the critical
programs that are expected to drive our future growth,” said Dan
Camardo, Chief Executive Officer of Athersys. “We remain excited by
the potential of MultiStem® to benefit patients in stroke as well
as other critical care areas. I’m confident that our revised
strategy and focus, executed by the remaining committed team, puts
us on the right path for future opportunities. We are deeply
grateful to the employees who are leaving Athersys for their
commitment, hard work, and many contributions,” concluded Mr.
Camardo.
Even with the reduced costs that will result from the
restructuring, the Company will need to raise additional capital to
reach full enrollment and data readout from the MASTERS-2 trial.
Discussions with potential partners are ongoing, while the Company
continues to explore additional financing options to strengthen its
balance sheet. Athersys will continue to partner with HEALIOS K.K.
(Healios) in Japan to advance its ischemic stroke and acute
respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) programs.
Athersys is planning a conference call with highly regarded
independent neurologists to discuss the recent TREASURE data and
interpretations. Details regarding this conference call will be
provided soon.
Conference Call
Management will host a conference call today at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Participants may listen by viewing the webcast online or may listen
using the phone.
Choose one method below:
Date
June 2, 2022
Time
5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Live webcast registration
https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/181698211
Phone registration
https://ige.netroadshow.com/registration/q4inc/11103/athersys-investor-conference-call/
We encourage listeners to access the call using the webcast
link. If you would like to dial in using the phone, please register
for the conference call ahead of time using the call registration
link above. Once registered, you will receive an email containing
the toll-free number, a direct entry passcode and a registrant
ID.
A replay of the event will be available at www.athersys.com
under the investors' section soon after the call has ended.
Investors may also call in for on-demand listening approximately
two hours after the completion of the call until 11:59 p.m. Eastern
Time on June 16, 2022, by dialing 1-(866) 813-9403 and entering the
access code 711939.
About MultiStem®
MultiStem® cell therapy (invimestrocel) is a patented
regenerative medicine product candidate in clinical development
that has shown the ability to promote tissue repair and healing in
a variety of ways, such as through the production of therapeutic
factors in response to signals of inflammation and tissue damage.
MultiStem therapy’s potential for multidimensional therapeutic
impact may distinguish it from traditional biopharmaceutical
therapies focused on a single mechanism of benefit. MultiStem
represents a unique "off-the-shelf" stem cell product candidate
that can be manufactured in a scalable manner, may be stored for
years in frozen form, and is administered without tissue matching
or the need for immune suppression. Based upon favorable outcome
data, its novel mechanisms of action, and favorable and consistent
tolerability data in clinical studies, we believe that MultiStem
therapy may provide a meaningful benefit to patients, including
those suffering from serious diseases and conditions with unmet
medical need.
About Athersys
Athersys is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and
development of therapeutic product candidates designed to extend
and enhance the quality of human life. The Company is developing
its MultiStem® cell therapy product, a patented, adult-derived
"off-the-shelf" stem cell product, initially for disease
indications in the neurological, inflammatory and immune,
cardiovascular, and other critical care indications and has several
ongoing clinical trials evaluating this potential regenerative
medicine product. Athersys has forged strategic partnerships and a
broad network of collaborations to further advance MultiStem cell
therapy toward commercialization. Investors and others should note
that we may post information about the Company on our website at
www.athersys.com and/or on our accounts on Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn or other social media platforms. It is possible that the
postings could include information deemed to be material
information. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media and
others interested in the Company to review the information we post
on our website at www.athersys.com and on our social media
accounts. Follow Athersys on Twitter at www.twitter.com/athersys.
Information that we may post about the Company on our website
and/or on our accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or other
social media platforms may contain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. You should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained on our
website and/or on our accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or
other social media platforms, and we undertake no obligation to
publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking
statements relate to, among other things, statements regarding
potential cost-savings from its restructuring; expected reductions
of operating expenses; the potential benefits of our MultiStem
product candidate; anticipated results of clinical trials involving
our MultiStem product candidate; the expected timetable for
development of our product candidates, our growth strategy, and our
future financial performance, including our operations, economic
performance, financial condition, prospects, and other future
events. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by
using such words as “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,”
“could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,”
“potential,” “should,” “suggest,” “will,” or other similar
expressions. These forward-looking statements are only predictions
and are largely based on our current expectations. A number of
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could
affect the accuracy of these statements. Some of the more
significant known risks that we face are the risks and
uncertainties inherent in the process of discovering, developing,
and commercializing products that are safe and effective for use as
therapeutics, including the uncertainty regarding market acceptance
of our product candidates and our ability to generate revenues. The
following risks and uncertainties may cause our actual results,
levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ
materially from any future results, levels of activity,
performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements: our ability to raise capital to fund
our operations in the near term, including, but not limited to, our
ability to access our traditional financing sources and to continue
as a going concern; our ability to enter into a partnership for the
co-development and co-commercialization of MultiStem; the
possibility of unfavorable results from ongoing and additional
clinical trials involving MultiStem; the risk that positive results
in a clinical trial may not be replicated in subsequent or
confirmatory trials or success in an early stage clinical trial may
not be predictive of results in later stage or large scale clinical
trials; our ability to regain compliance with the requirement to
maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 per share as set
forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2); the timing and nature of
results from MultiStem clinical trials, including the MASTERS-2
Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the administration of MultiStem
for the treatment of ischemic stroke; the success of our MACOVIA
clinical trial evaluating the administration of MultiStem for the
treatment of COVID-19 induced ARDS, and the MATRICS-1 clinical
trial being conducted with The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston evaluating the treatment of patients with serious
traumatic injuries; the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic
could continue to delay clinical site initiation, clinical trial
enrollment, regulatory review and potential receipt of regulatory
approvals, payments of milestones under our license agreements and
commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, if
approved; the availability of product sufficient to meet commercial
demand shortly following any approval, such as in the case of
accelerated approval for the treatment of COVID-19 induced ARDS;
the impact on our business, results of operations and financial
condition from the ongoing and global COVID-19 pandemic, or any
other pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of infectious disease in the
United States; the possibility of delays in, adverse results of,
and excessive costs of the development process; our ability to
successfully initiate and complete clinical trials of our product
candidates; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the production
capabilities of our contract manufacturing partners and our
MultiStem trial supply chain; the possibility of delays, work
stoppages or interruptions in manufacturing by third parties or us,
such as due to material supply constraints, contamination,
operational restrictions due to COVID-19 or other public health
emergencies, labor constraints, regulatory issues or other factors
which could negatively impact our trials and the trials of our
collaborators; uncertainty regarding market acceptance of our
product candidates and our ability to generate revenues, including
MultiStem cell therapy for neurological, inflammatory and immune,
cardiovascular and other critical care indications; changes in
external market factors; changes in our industry’s overall
performance; changes in our business strategy; our ability to
protect and defend our intellectual property and related business
operations, including the successful prosecution of our patent
applications and enforcement of our patent rights, and operate our
business in an environment of rapid technology and intellectual
property development; our possible inability to realize
commercially valuable discoveries in our collaborations with
pharmaceutical and other biotechnology companies; our ability to
meet milestones and earn royalties under our collaboration
agreements, including the success of our collaboration with
Healios; our collaborators’ ability to continue to fulfill their
obligations under the terms of our collaboration agreements and
generate sales related to our technologies; the success of our
efforts to enter into new strategic partnerships and advance our
programs; our possible inability to execute our strategy due to
changes in our industry or the economy generally; changes in
productivity and reliability of suppliers; the success of our
competitors and the emergence of new competitors; and the risks
mentioned elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2021 under Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and our other
filings with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements contained on our website and/or on our
accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or other social media
platforms, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220602005923/en/
Ivor Macleod Chief Financial Officer Tel: (216) 431-9900
ir@athersys.com
Karen Hunady Director of Corporate Communications and Investor
Relations Tel: (216) 431-9900 khunady@athersys.com
David Schull Russo Partners, LLC Tel: (212) 845-4271 or (858)
717-2310 David.schull@russopartnersllc.com
Peter Vozzo ICR Westwicke Tel: (443) 213-0505
peter.vozzo@westwicke.com
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