UPDATED May 14, 2019, with comment from Medavate.
Histogenics (NSDQ:HSGX) said today that it completed another step on its transformation into clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Ocugen, with a nearly $7 million deal to sell its NeoCart regenerative knee treatment to Medavate.
The $6.5 million all-cash deal, signed May 8, will see all of the NeoCart assets pass to Fort Collins, Colo.-based Medavate, including intellectual property, business and license agreements and clinical trial data, Histogenics said.
NeoCart, which is designed to repair knee cartilage damage using cells harvested from the surface of patients’ femur, last September failed to meet the primary endpoint in a pivotal trial.
Last month the company revealed its plan to merge with Ocugen and move its operations to Malvern, Pa. Today Histogenics also said it paid $300,000 to end a lease of its former headquarters in Lexington, Mass., ceding its security deposit on the space.
Medavate said it expects the transaction to close “later in 2019.”
“As we develop the Medavate platform, the addition of NeoCart will serve as a cornerstone of our regenerative medicine and precision health division,” chairman Michael Handley said in prepared remarks. “The long clinical and manufacturing history of NeoCart may provide patients and surgeons compelling pain and functional improvements not served by current therapies. The recent Phase 3 NeoCart trial and data, with market leading meaningful outcomes as early as 6 month and 1 year, have been received favorably by patients and surgeons and we look forward to being able to partner with leading clinicians and scientists to commercialize this product.”
“As regenerative medicine starts to come into mainstream clinical practice Medavate has positioned itself as a world leader by acquiring a cutting-edge personalized cellular therapy platform, NeoCart, and developing it for potentially millions of patients suffering from pain and disabilities,” added director Dr. Stephen Shaya.
