Athersys licenses animal health assets to Ardent Animal Health

Athersys announced the signing of a licensing agreement with Ardent Animal Health, a privately held veterinary biotechnology company developing regenerative medicine and cancer therapies for animals. Under the terms of the agreement, Athersys will receive an initial fee from Ardent in exchange for an exclusive license to Athersys’ Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cell technology for non-human mammal applications in the United States. The agreement includes pre- and post-regulatory approval milestone payments to Athersys, including payments on conditional and full product approval for each species/indication combination. Athersys will also receive tiered, double-digit royalties on commercial sales. Athersys has also granted Ardent rights of first refusal to be the exclusive distributor for Athersys’ novel cryogenic storage system, the Secure Integrated Freezer Unit in the United States animal health space.