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CLEVELAND, Apr 20, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Athersys, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHX) today announced it will host its second annual Investor/Research & Development Day being held at the Intercontinental Hotel on Friday, May 14, 2010 in New York City. The meeting will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time and end at approximately 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Investors, analysts and media interested in attending the investor day event should contact Bill Bunting, In-Site Communications, via telephone at (212) 759-3929 or email at bbunting@insitecony.com, or register through the Company's website at www.Athersys.com.
"This year we will bring together a number of our key collaborators and senior members of our research and management team for a series of dynamic and informative presentations designed to provide our shareholders with a deeper understanding of the breadth and depth of our development progress," said Gil Van Bokkelen, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Athersys. "We remain committed to developing a portfolio of "best-in-class" therapeutic products, and we will use this event to highlight the solid foundation we have built and why we remain confident we are on track to achieve that goal in multiple areas."
The investor day will feature a series of presentations which will provide an overview of relevant clinical areas and therapeutic target markets, a description of the results and data generated through the Company's internal and collaborative research programs, and an outline of the future development path for key programs. The presentations will describe work being conducted by the Company and key collaborators in multiple areas, including:
-- Cardiovascular Disease. Athersys is conducting a Phase I clinical trial
in which MultiStem(R), a patented and proprietary stem cell therapy
being developed by Athersys, is administered to patients who have
suffered from acute myocardial infarction. In addition, Athersys is
engaged in research involving MultiStem and peripheral vascular disease
and other cardiovascular applications.
-- Neurological Disease. Athersys has received authorization from the FDA
to undertake a Phase I clinical trial in which MultiStem is administered
to patients who have suffered from an ischemic stroke and is also
conducting collaborative research involving neonatal hypoxic ischemia,
traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.
-- Immune System Modulation. Athersys is conducting a Phase I clinical
trial in which MultiStem is administered to leukemia or lymphoma
patients for cancer treatment support, such as to reduce or prevent
graft versus host disease (GvHD) in leukemia patients.
-- Obesity. Athersys is developing a portfolio of compounds for the
treatment of obesity that are designed to act by stimulating the 5HT2c
receptor in the brain that regulates appetite and food intake.
Importantly, the Company has successfully developed compounds that are
both potent and highly selective, and that do not exhibit activity at
other serotonin receptors that are known to cause safety and
tolerability issues, or that could limit efficacy.
-- Other small molecule programs. The Company is also developing potent,
selective pharmaceuticals that have potential to treat conditions and
disorders that affect cognition, attention, and wakefulness. These
compounds act at the H3 receptor in the brain, which plays a key role in
regulating cognitive function. In addition, Athersys is focused on the
interplay between small molecules and stem cells, and how they may play
a role in modulating key aspects of stem cell biology and the
manufacturability and performance of its cell-based products.
About Athersys, Inc.
Athersys is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of therapeutic product candidates designed to extend and enhance the quality of human life. The Company is developing MultiStem(R), a patented, adult-derived "off-the-shelf" stem cell product platform for multiple disease indications, including damage caused by myocardial infarction, bone marrow transplantation and oncology treatment support, ischemic stroke, and inflammatory bowel disease. The Company is also developing a portfolio of other therapeutic programs, including orally active pharmaceutical product candidates for the treatment of metabolic and central nervous system disorders, utilizing proprietary technologies, including Radom Activation of Gene Expression (RAGE(R)). Athersys has forged several key strategic alliances and collaborations with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as world-renowned research institutions in the United States and Europe to further develop its platform and products. More information is available at www.athersys.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the expected timetable for development of our product candidates, our growth strategy, and our future financial performance, including our operations, economic performance, financial condition, prospects, and other future events. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by using such words as "anticipates," "believes," "can," "continue," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "potential," "should," "will," or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and are largely based on our current expectations. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could affect the accuracy of these statements. Some of the more significant known risks that we face that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by forward-looking statements are the risks and uncertainties inherent in the process of discovering, developing, and commercializing products that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, such as the uncertainty regarding market acceptance of our product candidates and our ability to generate revenues, including MultiStem for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, acute myocardial infarction and other disease indications. These risks may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Other important factors to consider in evaluating our forward-looking statements include: the possibility of delays in, adverse results of, and excessive costs of the development process; changes in external market factors; changes in our industry's overall performance; changes in our business strategy; our ability to protect our intellectual property portfolio; our possible inability to realize commercially valuable discoveries in our collaborations with pharmaceutical and other biotechnology companies; our ability to meet milestones under our collaboration agreements, our possible inability to execute our strategy due to changes in our industry or the economy generally; changes in productivity and reliability of suppliers; and the success of our competitors and the emergence of new competitors. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: Athersys, Inc.
CONTACT: Athersys, Inc. William (B.J.) Lehmann, J.D., President and Chief Operating Officer (216) 431-9900 bjlehmann@athersys.com In-Site Communications Investor Relations: Bill Bunting (212) 759-3929 bbunting@insitecony.com Pure Communications, Inc. Media Relations: Dan Budwick (973) 271-6085 dan@purecommunicationsinc.com
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