Ann: Trading Halt, page-22

I'd mostly concentrated on the other January 2017 announcement but this one suggests Fuji had/has an option (i.e. (ii) to "negotiate a licence for manufacturing CYP-001 .. (even) if Fujifilm chooses not to exercise the (wider) option in point (i)".

So I see four possible replies. 1) Fuji takes GvHD worldwide (plus manufacturing)
2) Fuji doesn't take GvHD (CYP-001) but still wanted to negotiate manufacturing.
3) Fuji wanted to use time to put together an offer for more than 1 and 2 (but the trading halt doesn't say anything about an offer just mentions "pending an announcement in relation to the Licence Option Agreement").
4) Fuji is declining all options.

1 and 2 together are the outcome I think will occur.

From the patent Methods and Materials For Hematoendothelium Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Under Defined Conditions (US patent no 9,938,499)

"Previously, co-culture systems using the mouse bone marrow stromal cell line. OP9, have been used to establish efficient and scalable differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into endothelial and blood lineages. Howeve, co-culture systems that rely on mouse feeder cells and serum (i.e. xenographic sources) have limited utility for studying hPSC response to specific growth factors. Moreover, such systems have further limitations when considered in the context of manufacturing clinical grade therapeutic blood cells".

I believe Fuji would want GvHD to go ahead not just for GvHD but because Fujis CDI has the potential to use a very similar process as is used in producing MSCs for producing blood related cells.

Prove the GvHD in the clinic and your iPSC-derived blood related cells are also one step closer to being commercialized.

I haven't checked that Fuji to see that Fuji took over the blood related aspects of the patent when they took over CDI (I'm just assuming they did) and I haven't checked to see what work they've done in producing blood cells or blood cell related products yet.

But I'm confident even without doing that that blood cell derivation from iPSCs under serum free and defined conditions would almost certainly be a very big market in comparison with GvHD. And that GvHD acceptance would help it.