A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a growing pipeline of "potential best-in-class therapeutics" with high-hopes of tackling issues such as heart attacks, obesity and cognitive disorders�
Sound too good to be true?
The drugs � although still in the clinical stages � are very real to Athersys.
Currently, the Cleveland-based company is continuing its enrollments in safety and efficacy trials of its adult stem-cell therapy MultiStem, for heart attack patients and for those who run the risk of rejecting bone marrow transplants. MulitStem is a biologic product manufactured from human stem cells obtained from adult bone marrow.
However, Athersys is also exploring other avenues of development including medicines for the treatment of metabolic and central nervous system disorders � utilizing proprietary technologies, including Random Activation of Gene Expression (RAGE).
While the company is still in the clinical phase of developing its pharmaceutical remedies, Ahtersys leaders remain optimistic.
"Based on our research to date, we believe that MultiStem may provide key benefits over current standards of care in the bone marrow transplantation area, as well as other areas such as heart attack, stroke and other ischemic neurological disorders," Athersys CEO Gil Van Bokkelen says in a recent statement to his shareholders.
Van Bokkelen co-founded Athersys in October 1995 and has served as its CEO and a director from the beginning. Just recently, he rang the NASDAQ closing bell in Times Square.
"In addition to advancing our clinical and preclinical programs, we remain actively engaged in partnering discussions involving multiple programs," Bokkelen says.
Source: Gil Van Bokkelen
Writer: Colin McEwen