No­var­tis bags Mesoblast's stem cell ther­a­py for ARDS, in­clud­ing in Covid-19, in a deal worth up to $1.2B+

No­var­tis has li­censed a new stem cell ther­a­py from Mesoblast, just weeks af­ter the FDA re­ject­ed the Aus­tralian biotech’s pitch for an ap­proval on a sep­a­rate in­di­ca­tion.

The Swiss phar­ma an­nounced Thurs­day af­ter­noon it is part­ner­ing with Mesoblast $MESO to de­vel­op remestem­cel-L for the treat­ment of acute res­pi­ra­to­ry dis­tress syn­drome, in­clud­ing ARDS re­lat­ed to Covid-19. As part of the deal, No­var­tis will shell out $25 mil­lion in up­front cash and take a $25 mil­lion stake in the biotech, while of­fer­ing up to $1.255 bil­lion in po­ten­tial mile­stone pay­ments.

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