Ann: Novartis and Mesoblast Remestemcel-L Collaboration, page-598

Hi @stockrock. Thanks for your considered response.

As a general rule, with biotech deals, I like to see a sign on that’s reflective of the years and expense that gone into getting the product to that point. Agree with you that the ARDS program is relatively recent, but the development of Remestemcel-l is much more lengthy. So while I'll respectfully decline to put a figure on it, my initial response was that the upfront was below my expectations.

In addition, with the need to fund confirmatory trials, while I suspect that partners will be queueing up if the back and/or heart trials are positive, imo a larger sign on would help MSB’s negotiating position.

However, for me, a major positive of the Novartis deal structure is this. The board of Mesoblast includes experienced heavy hitters, with skin in the game. The fact that they’ve accepted this arrangement, as you’ve pointed out, with both significant pre-commercial and back ended milestones, suggests they are confident of success. And imo Novartis would not have signed on unless they shared similar expectations.

Looking forward to trial readouts.

Herro