Continued positive RA responses

Statistically significant area under the curve analysis from Mesoblast’s Phase II stem cell product in refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA) shows that the week 12 positive responses are maintained for 39 weeks. This suggests that the indication could progress into pivotal studies and may attract potential partners. We have increased the RA probability to 35% (formerly 20%). Mesoblast has entered a nine-month exclusive negotiation with Mallinckrodt (for an A$29.6m investment) on chronic low-back pain and graft vs host disease in transplantation. We have increased our indicative value for Mesoblast to A$1.67bn (A$4.16/share) from A$1.47bn.