Athersys Inc (ATHXQ)

[goupupup]

https://www.bizjournals.com/cleveland/search?q=Daniel%20Camardo

Daniel Camardo, the new CEO for Athersys Inc. in Cleveland, is enthusiastic about the prospects for his clinical-stage biotechnology company.

After more than 15 years of developing its adult stem cell therapy, MultiStem, to help stroke, and more recently, acute respiratory distress patients, Athersys appears to be closing in on regulatory approval and the start of commercial production in Japan.

But first Athersys will have to deal with a vexing problem: getting its share price back above the $1 mark for at least 10 consecutive days.

The Cleveland biotech company received a delisting notice from Nasdaq a few weeks ago. This happens when a company's stock on the trading system falls below $1 for 30 consecutive days, Camardo said.

"For folks who have been invested in Athersys for quite some time, I can understand their disappointment, based upon the current share price and recent performance of the company," said the executive, who has delivered numerous therapies to market for other companies over the last two decades.

"We have 180 days in order to work our stock price above a dollar," Camardo said. "We're going to be working hard to change because I do think there's incredible value that still has to be realized, and that's what we're working toward."

The Cleveland biotech's shares started consistently trading below $1 a share starting in December and ended above $1 on only three days this year, including Feb. 1 and 2, which were within two weeks of Camardo being named CEO.

The commercialization pro replaced Athersys co-founder Gil van Bokkelen, who stepped down more than a year ago.

"We're not happy with where the stock price is, and we feel like the company's significantly undervalued," Camardo said.

"We hope that the actions we're taking and the upcoming milestones are going to be able to elevate the stock price to a point where the Nasdaq delisting will no longer be a concern," he said.