Athersys, Inc., a biopharmaceutical firm based in Cleveland, OH, apparently is mulling a move of its headquarters. And a newspaper says Research Triangle Park is on the shopping list.
The Saint Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota reports that Athersys is considering moving to new facilities in either Minnesota, RTP or perhaps elsewhere in Cleveland.
“Anybody who lands Athersys will have an inside track to hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding for a very hot and promising technology area,” a portfolio manager for ING Investment Management in New York recently told Crain’s Cleveland Business, in a quote published by the Minnesota newspaper.
Athersys is focused on stem cell research, which it licensed from the University of Minnesota. Athersys has raised more than $85 million in venture capital.
“Athersys is growing rapidly — they just bought a company in California — and they are looking at transplanting their company,” Frank Cerra, the University of Minnesota’s senior vice president for health sciences, told the newspaper.
The company was founded in 1995. It licensed the stem cell technology from the University of Minnesota in December.
Dr. C. Thomas Caskey, who earned his M.D. from Duke University Medical School and his B.A. from the University of South Carolina, sits on the board at Athersys and has done so since 2000. He is chief executive officer of Cogene Biotech Ventures.
Athersys: www.athersys.com
