Hitachi Chemical Purchases PCT From Caladrius Biosciences

On March 16, 2017, cell-therapy company Caladrius Biosciences announced that it had signed a definitive agreement with Hitachi Chemical Co. America, Ltd. to sell the remaining 80.1% ownership interest in its cell therapy development and manufacturing services provider subsidiary, PCT, LLC. Hitachi Chemical currently owns 19.9% of PCT. Hitachi Chemical/PCT will continue to provide development and manufacturing services to Caladrius for Caladrius’s T regulatory cell program, for a period of seven years after closing. Caladrius plans for the sale to redefine Caladrius “as a cell therapeutics-only development company with multiple proprietary technology platforms and significant capital resources to fund future programs,” according to a company press release.

Caladrius is selling PCT for $75 million in cash with a potential for Caladrius to receive an additional cash payment of $5 million if PCT achieves a certain revenue-based milestone. Upon signing the agreement, Hitachi Chemical paid Caladrius $5 million, and $70 million is due upon closing the transaction. The sale is expected to close in May 2017, subject to approval by Caladrius’ shareholders and customary closing conditions.

“Hitachi Chemical’s purchase of our remaining interest in PCT unlocks the value of this asset for our company both by transforming Caladrius into a well-capitalized pure play therapeutics development company and by eliminating our need to contribute the tens of millions of dollars of future capital investment in PCT needed for it to fully realize its cell therapy commercial manufacturing growth goals,” said David J. Mazzo, PhD, chief executive officer of Caladrius, in the release. “The transaction provides considerable non-dilutive capital to fund the execution of our ongoing Phase 2 trial while also allowing us to exploit compelling therapeutic prospects.”

“Hitachi Chemical intends to deploy the capital and engineering expertise needed to leverage PCT’s own engineering and cell therapy development and manufacturing expertise, thereby accelerating the creation of a global commercial manufacturing enterprise,” said Robert A. Preti, PhD, President of PCT, in the release.  “All of our clients and especially Caladrius, with which PCT will maintain a strong client relationship, stand to benefit from PCT’s integration into Hitachi’s global footprint and the resulting access to advanced engineering solutions for process optimization and automation for the cell therapy industry.”

Source: Caladrius Biosciences