Mesoblast Buys Osiris’ Stem Cell Patents

Mesoblast Ltd is spending an initial twenty million in cash for U.S.-based Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.’s cultured stem cell business, according to reporter Brian Robins of the Sydney Morning Herald. The final price could go as high as $US 100 million depending on Mesoblast’s progress in developing the newly acquired products. There is also a provision in the agreement for future royalty payments.

Like Mesoblast, Osiris had been developing therapeutic products that use mesenchymal stem cells which researchers believe help body tissue heal large wounds as well as repair cartilage and muscle tissue. Osiris began producing these stem cells in the U.S. in 1999 and they have been approved for use in selected bone marrow cases involving children in the U.S., Canada and New Zealand. Osiris also has a joint venture in Japan.

Among the items purchased are two products that are in the final stage of clinical trials and have received approvals for launch in Canada and New Zealand. The firm anticipates winning clearance for entering the products in the US market within two years.

‘‘These are substantially de-risked, ’’ Mesoblast Chief Executive Professor Silviu Itescu said of the two advanced products. One is an agent for treating Crohn’s disease. The other is a treatment for some graft versus host disease cases resulting from stem cell transplants. The purchase includes 110 patents globally, including: 48 in the United States, 21 in Europe and 9 in Japan which extend to 2025, with additional patent applications which could extend patent protection to 2031.

The acquisition consolidates Mesoblast’s position in the regenerative therapies sector, while providing additional growth options, Itescu said. The acquisition brings with it approved products in several countries and will ‘‘more than double our portfolio of granted patent families encompassing all mesenchymal lineage stem cells, ’’ he said.