Athersys, Inc. announced patient enrollment has begun in the third and final cohort in MATRICS-1, the Phase 2 clinical study evaluating MultiStem(R) in patients following resuscitation from hemorrhagic trauma. This study is being conducted at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) and Memorial Hermann- Texas Medical Center, a leading certified Level One Trauma Center, and approximately 140 patients will be enrolled in cohort three. MATRICS-1 is supported in part by MTEC (Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium) in partnership with the Department of Defense, and funding from Memorial Hermann Foundation.

Patients in the third cohort will be dosed with MultiStem cells produced under Athersys' novel 3D bioreactor-based manufacturing process, a process that was first utilized to produce product for patients in cohort two of MATRICS-1. MultiStem is believed to deliver benefit for treating complications due to trauma through mechanisms including reducing inflammatory damage, protecting at-risk tissue at the site of injury and upregulating reparative aspects of the local and systemic immune system in a more timely way. The MATRICS-1 double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of MultiStem for the prevention and early treatment of complications after severe traumatic injury. The study is enrolling severely injured trauma patients who have survived initial treatment and are admitted to the intensive care unit, where they are randomized to receive MultiStem or placebo within hours of hospitalization, along with standard of care.