MELBOURNE, Australia--U.S. biopharmaceutical company Celgene
Corp. (CELG) agreed to buy a stake in Australian
regenerative-medicine specialist Mesoblast Ltd. (MSB.AU) in a deal
that also secures potential access to prospective treatments in a
range of disease fields.
Celgene will buy 15.3 million shares in Mesoblast for 58.5
million Australian dollars (US$44.9 million), equal to A$3.82 a
share, Mesoblast said Monday.
Celgene also will have a six-month right of first refusal to
Mesoblast's mesenchymal lineage adult-stem-cell product candidates
for the prevention and treatment of acute graft versus host
disease, certain oncologic diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases,
and organ transplant rejection.
Celgene, which focuses on the development of therapies for the
treatment of cancer and immune-inflammatory related diseases, said
the deal will bolster its pipeline of cellular and regenerative
medicines.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
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