NEW YORK, April 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesoblast Limited (Nasdaq:MESO; ASX:MSB), global leader in allogeneic cellular medicines for inflammatory diseases, today provided an activity report for the third quarter ended March 31, 2023.

Financial Highlights

• Successful completion of a global private placement primarily to Mesoblast’s existing major US, UK, and Australian shareholders raising approximately US$40 million, net of transaction costs.
• In addition to cash on hand at the end of the quarter of US$48.8 million, pro-forma cash after proceeds raised in April is US$88.8 million, with up to an additional US$40 million available to be drawn down from existing financing facilities subject to certain milestones.
• Net cash usage for operating activities in the quarter was US$16.2 million; this represented an increase of US$0.7 million, or 4%, on the comparative quarter in FY2022, and a reduction of US$8.3 million, or 34%, on the comparative quarter in FY2021.
• Revenue from royalties on sales of TEMCELL^® HS Inj.¹ sold in Japan by our licensee for the quarter were US$1.8 million. On a constant currency basis, royalties on sales grew 4% quarter on quarter from US$2.0 million² for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, compared with US$1.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.

Operational Highlights

Remestemcel-L

• Resubmitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the Biologics License Application (BLA) for approval of remestemcel-L in the treatment of children with steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGVHD).
• The resubmission contains new information developed since the Complete Response Letter (CRL) received in September 2020, including the generation of new data and analyses which we believe provide substantial evidence of remestemcel-L's effectiveness in pediatric SR-aGVHD.
• FDA accepted Mesoblast’s BLA resubmission for remestemcel-L, considering the resubmission to be a complete response and set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of August 2, 2023.
• As part of the ongoing review of the BLA for remestemcel-L FDA scheduled a Pre-License Inspection (PLI) of Mesoblast’s cell therapy manufacturing operations at Lonza Bioscience in Singapore.
• Two studies on the remestemcel-L development program for the treatment of children with SR-aGVHD were selected by peer review and presented at the 2023 Tandem Meetings of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) and the Center for Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).
• The studies are titled “The Immunomodulatory Activity of Remestemcel-L on T Cell Activation in vitro is a Direct Measure of Product Potency and Correlates with Clinical Outcomes in Pediatric Patients with Steroid-Refractory Acute GVHD” and “Long-Term Survival in Children Treated with Remestemcel-L for SR-aGVHD”. The data from both studies formed key components of Mesoblast’s recent resubmission of its remestemcel-L BLA to FDA for children with SR-aGVHD.

Rexlemestrocel-L

• FDA granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for rexlemestrocel-L in the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP) associated with disc degeneration, in combination with hyaluronic acid (HA) as delivery agent for injection into the lumbar disc.
• FDA has confirmed that a 12-month reduction in pain is an approvable indication and Mesoblast will use this endpoint in its confirmatory Phase 3 trial under the RMAT designation.
• Publication of the DREAM-HF Phase 3 trial results in the premier peer-reviewed journal for cardiovascular medicine, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC). The results of the randomized, double-blind, controlled study in 537 patients showed that Mesoblast’s mesenchymal precursor cell therapy (MPCs; rexlemestrocel-L) strengthened heart function at 12 months, as measured by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and decreased cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) due to reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) over a mean follow-up of 30 months.³

Other
Salary payments to full-time Executive Directors were US$330,756 and fees to Non-Executive Directors were US$197,365, detailed in Item 6 of the Appendix 4C cash flow report for the quarter.⁴

A copy of the Appendix 4C – Quarterly Cash Flow Report for the third quarter FY2023 is available on the investor page of the company’s website www.mesoblast.com.

About Mesoblast

Mesoblast is a world leader in developing allogeneic (off-the-shelf) cellular medicines for the treatment of severe and life-threatening inflammatory conditions. The Company has leveraged its proprietary mesenchymal lineage cell therapy technology platform to establish a broad portfolio of late-stage product candidates which respond to severe inflammation by releasing anti-inflammatory factors that counter and modulate multiple effector arms of the immune system, resulting in significant reduction of the damaging inflammatory process.

Mesoblast has a strong and extensive global intellectual property portfolio with protection extending through to at least 2041 in all major markets. The Company’s proprietary manufacturing processes yield industrial-scale, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf, cellular medicines. These cell therapies, with defined pharmaceutical release criteria, are planned to be readily available to patients worldwide.

Mesoblast is developing product candidates for distinct indications based on its remestemcel-L and rexlemestrocel-L allogeneic stromal cell technology platforms. Remestemcel-L is being developed for inflammatory diseases in children and adults including steroid refractory acute graft versus host disease, biologic-resistant inflammatory bowel disease, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Rexlemestrocel-L is in development for advanced chronic heart failure and chronic low back pain. Two products have been commercialized in Japan and Europe by Mesoblast’s licensees, and the Company has established commercial partnerships in Europe and China for certain Phase 3 assets.

Mesoblast has locations in Australia, the United States and Singapore and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (MSB) and on the Nasdaq (MESO). For more information, please see www.mesoblast.com, LinkedIn: Mesoblast Limited and Twitter: @Mesoblast

References / Footnotes

1. TEMCELL® HS Inj. is a registered trademark of JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.
2. TEMCELL sales by our Licensee are recorded in Japanese Yen before being translated into USD for the purposes of calculating the royalty paid to Mesoblast. Results have been adjusted for the movement of the USD to Japanese Yen exchange rate from 1USD:123.41 Yen for the 3 months ended March 31, 2022 to 1USD:134.54 Yen for the 3 months ended March 31, 2023.
3. Perin EC. Et al. Randomized Trial of Targeted Transendocardial Mesenchymal Precursor Cell Therapy in Patients With Heart Failure. JACC Vol. 81, No. 9, 2023. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0735109723000244
4. As required by ASX listing rule 4.7 and reported in Item 6 of the Appendix 4C, reported are the aggregated total payments to related parties being Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements that relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We make such forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and actual results may differ from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material and adverse. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about: the initiation, timing, progress and results of Mesoblast’s preclinical and clinical studies, and Mesoblast’s research and development programs; Mesoblast’s ability to advance product candidates into, enroll and successfully complete, clinical studies, including multi-national clinical trials; Mesoblast’s ability to advance its manufacturing capabilities; the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, manufacturing activities and product marketing activities, if any; the commercialization of Mesoblast’s product candidates, if approved; regulatory or public perceptions and market acceptance surrounding the use of stem-cell based therapies; the potential for Mesoblast’s product candidates, if any are approved, to be withdrawn from the market due to patient adverse events or deaths; the potential benefits of strategic collaboration agreements and Mesoblast’s ability to enter into and maintain established strategic collaborations; Mesoblast’s ability to establish and maintain intellectual property on its product candidates and Mesoblast’s ability to successfully defend these in cases of alleged infringement; the scope of protection Mesoblast is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its product candidates and technology; estimates of Mesoblast’s expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and its needs for additional financing; Mesoblast’s financial performance; developments relating to Mesoblast’s competitors and industry; and the pricing and reimbursement of Mesoblast’s product candidates, if approved. You should read this press release together with our risk factors, in our most recently filed reports with the SEC or on our website. Uncertainties and risks that may cause Mesoblast’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, and accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Release authorized by the Chief Executive.

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