CT Catapult to work with US biopharmaceutical company Athersys
On projects to advance European development of MultiStem therapy
The Cell Therapy Catapult, which is focused on the development of the UK cell therapy industry, is working with Athersys on multiple projects to progress the development of the Cleveland, Ohio, US-based biopharmaceutical company’s proprietary MultiStem cell therapy product in Europe.
Among the projects, Cell Therapy Catapult will undertake a European market access assessment for the MultiStem product which will consider the data requirements for evidence-based decision making, payers' value perceptions and pricing benchmarks.
MultiStem is an ‘off the shelf’ stem cell product in development for the treatment of multiple diseases and conditions in the cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory and immune disease areas. The product, which consists of multipotent adult progenitor cells obtained from healthy, consenting donors, is produced from human stem cells obtained from adult bone marrow or other tissue sources. Unlike traditional bone marrow transplants, the resulting product may be manufactured on a large scale, and exhibits a 'drug-like' profile. Currently, MultiStem is the subject of five clinical programmes, and is also being assessed in preclinical studies in a range of indications.
Keith Thompson, CEO of the Cell Therapy Catapult, said: 'Understanding market dynamics and reimbursement issues is a crucial part of the development of cell therapies such as MultiStem. We are pleased to be using our expertise in this analysis for Athersys, and look forward to helping other UK and international cell therapy organisations move their products towards the market.'
Gil Van Bokkelen, Chairman and CEO of Athersys, added: 'The market access assessment will provide information that is important to our further development of MultiStem in Europe and beyond.'
