Athersys Reports Fourth Quarter And 2010 Annual Results

CLEVELAND, March 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Athersys, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHX) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2010 and for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Fourth Quarter and Recent Highlights Include:

• Completed a registered direct offering in February 2011, generating net proceeds of $11.8 million through the issuance of common stock and warrants to purchase 0.3 of a share of common stock at an exercise price of $3.55 per share;
• Enrolled first patient in the Phase II clinical study being conducted with Pfizer, administering MultiStem ^® to patients suffering from ulcerative colitis;
• Completed patient enrollment for the single dose arm of a clinical study administering MultiStem to patients being treated for leukemia or other blood-born cancers. The multiple ascending dose portion of this graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD, study is ongoing;
• Published study in the January 2011 Journal of Neuroscience, conducted by the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Athersys, showing the benefit of MultiStem therapy after spinal cord injury;
• UTHealth and Athersys presented preclinical data illustrating multiple potential benefits of MultiStem for treating ischemic stroke;
• Received three Therapeutic Discovery Project grants aggregating $733,000 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 related to MultiStem ^® and our pharmaceutical development program in obesity and related metabolic conditions;
• Recorded revenues of $3.3 million and a net loss of $2.1 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010; and
• Ended the year with $15.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities, which does not reflect the impact of the recently completed financing.

"In the fourth quarter as throughout 2010, Athersys continued to achieve important milestones," said Gil Van Bokkelen, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Three MultiStem programs are progressing in clinical studies, including a Phase II study in ulcerative colitis and Phase I studies in acute myocardial infarction and GVHD. We plan to advance our acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke programs into Phase II clinical trials in 2011. In addition, recently published results demonstrate the regenerative effects of MultiStem therapy after spinal cord injury, and these and other published results affirm our confidence in pursuing applications in stroke and other neurological conditions."

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