Vericel Corp. (VCEL)

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Vericel Licenses Product Portfolio to Innovative Cellular Therapeutics for Distribution in China, South Korea, and other Countries in Southeast Asia
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May 10, 2017 07:00 ET | Source: Vericel Corporation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SHANGHAI, China, May 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vericel Corporation (Nasdaq:VCEL), a leading developer of expanded autologous cell therapies for the treatment of patients with serious diseases and conditions, today announced that it has entered into a License Agreement with Innovative Cellular Therapeutics (ICT), a leading China-based cell therapy company and developer of CAR-T cell therapy for cancer treatment, for development, manufacturing and commercialization of the Vericel product portfolio. Under the terms of the agreement, ICT will acquire exclusive rights to develop and distribute Carticel®, MACI®, Ixmyelocel-T, and Epicel® in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, and other countries in the region. In connection with the license agreement, ICT will also enter in a warrant agreement with Vericel.

Under the terms of the license agreement, Vericel will receive an upfront payment of $6.0 million. In addition, Vericel is eligible to receive approximately $8.0 million in development and commercial milestones. ICT has also agreed to pay tiered royalties to Vericel equal to a percentage of net sales of each licensed product in the low to middle double digits. ICT will be responsible for funding the development of the programs and manufacturing the products for commercialization in China and the rest of the territory. In connection with the license agreement and under the terms of the warrant agreement, Vericel will issue to ICT a warrant, exercisable for the number of shares of Vericel’s Common Stock equal to $5,000,000 less any withholding tax payable divided by Vericel’s closing price on May 9, 2017, with an exercise price of $0.01 per share. The funding transfer is subject to approval by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the People's Republic of China and is expected to conclude in the third quarter of 2017.

“We are very pleased to have a strategic collaboration and develop a relationship with a leading cell therapy company in China, to begin to develop a global footprint for our product portfolio, and to create another potential revenue stream for the Company,” said Nick Colangelo, president and CEO of Vericel.

Dr. Lei Xiao, Chairman of ICT commented “MACI, Epicel and Carticel are FDA approved products and have successfully treated thousands of patients in United States. Ixmyelocel-T has been evaluated in a phase II study in the U.S., and the encouraging data suggest that it may be a treatment option for millions of heart failure patients. This collaboration enables ICT to bring world-class cell therapy products to China and other Asian countries which will benefit the patients in multiple therapeutic indications. By combining with our advanced CAR-T portfolio, ICT further strengthens its leadership position in Cell Therapies in Asia.”

http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/05/10/981698/0/en/Vericel-Licenses-Product-Portfolio-to-Innovative-Cellular-Therapeutics-for-Distribution-in-China-South-Korea-and-other-Countries-in-Southeast-Asia.html