Athersys, Inc. announced that Dr. Gil Van Bokkelen has stepped down as Chairman, effective immediately. Dr. Ismail Kola, Lead Director of the Athersys Board, has been appointed Chairman of the Board. Dr. Kola served as Lead Director from August 2020 and a Director since October 2010. He served as Executive Vice President of UCB S.A. in Belgium and President and Chief Scientific Officer of UCB New Medicines. Dr. Kola was formerly Senior Vice President, Discovery Research and Early Clinical Research & Experimental Medicine at Schering-Plough Research Institute and Chief Scientific Officer at Schering-Plough Corporation, from March 2007 until his appointment at UCB. Prior to Schering-Plough, Dr. Kola held senior positions from January 2003 to March 2007 at Merck where he was Senior Vice President and Site Head, Basic Research. He currently serves on the board of directors of Biotie Therapies, Inc. since February 2011, where he serves on the compensation committee. Dr. Kola served on the board of directors of Astex Therapeutics from May 2010 until its sale to Otsuka Pharmaceuticals in October 2013, Ondek Pty Ltd. from 2009 to 2011, and Promega Corporation from 2003 to 2007.
Athersys, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused primarily on the field of regenerative medicine. The Company is engaged in the discovery and development of therapeutic product candidates to address unmet medical needs in multiple disease areas. Its MultiStem (invimestrocel) cell therapy, which is an allogeneic stem cell product candidate, is its lead platform product and is in late-stage clinical development. MultiStem cell therapy includes treatment of critical care indications, neurological conditions, inflammatory and immune disorders, certain pulmonary conditions, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions. MultiStem cell therapy is manufactured from human stem cells obtained from adult bone marrow and these cells are alternatively obtained from other tissue sources. It is conducting a Phase III clinical trial of MultiStem cell therapy for the treatment of ischemic stroke, referred to as MultiStem Administration for Stroke Treatment and Enhanced Recovery Study-2 (MASTERS-2).
ATHERSYS, INC. 
