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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549


Form 10-K

     
þ
  ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
    For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002
or
 
o
  TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
    For the transition period from           to

Commission File Number 0-22025

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


     
Michigan
  94-3096597
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive

P. O. Box 376
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (734) 930-5555


Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Common Stock, no par value

      Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.     Yes þ          No o

      Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.     o

      The approximate aggregate market value of the registrant’s Common Stock, no par value (“Common Stock”), held by non-affiliates of the registrant (based on the closing sales price of the Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market) on September 19, 2002 was approximately $15 million. Excludes shares of Common Stock held by directors, officers and each person who holds 5% or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, since such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the registrant. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

      As of September 19, 2002, 45,934,129 shares of Common Stock, no par value, were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

     
Document Form 10-K Reference


Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for November 14, 2002
  Items 10, 11, 12 and 13 of Part III




TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I
Item 1. Business
Item 2. Properties
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Shareholder Matters
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
PART III
Item 10. Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
PART IV
Item 14. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules and Reports on Form 8-K
SIGNATURES
EXHIBIT INDEX
EXHIBIT 3.1
EXHIBIT 10.70
EXHIBIT 10.71
EXHIBIT 10.72
EXHIBIT 23.1
EXHIBIT 99.1
EXHIBIT 99.2


Table of Contents

AASTROM BIOSCIENCES, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

             
Page
No.

PART I
Item 1.
  BUSINESS     3  
Item 2.
  PROPERTIES     18  
Item 3.
  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS     18  
Item 4.
  SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS     18  
PART II
Item 5.
  MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS     19  
Item 6.
  SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA     20  
Item 7.
  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS     21  
Item 7A.
  QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK     25  
Item 8.
  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA     33  
Item 9.
  CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE     48  
PART III
Item 10.
  DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT     48  
Item 11.
  EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION     48  
Item 12.
  SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT     48  
Item 13.
  CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS     48  
PART IV
Item 14.
  EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K     48  
SIGNATURES     49  
CERTIFICATIONS     50  

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      Except for the historical information presented, the matters discussed in this Report, including our product development and commercialization goals and expectations, potential market opportunities, our plans and anticipated results of our clinical development activities and the potential advantage of our products and product candidates under development, include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the caption “Business Risks” in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Unless the context requires otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our” and “Aastrom” refer to Aastrom Biosciences, Inc.

PART I

Item 1.     Business

      Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. is a leader in the development of human cell therapy products intended for a broad range of medical applications based on its patented process and device capabilities. The Company has three product areas in various stages of development, which are: Tissue Repair Cells; Therapeutic Cells for Immunotherapy; and, Devices for cell production. The Tissue Repair Cell products under development include the SC-I and CB-I cells for use in stem cell therapy and the OC cell products for the restoration of bone tissue, which have all reached the clinical trial stage in the US. Our lead Device products under development include the AastromReplicellTM System and the DC-I and DCV-I kits for the clinical-scale production of dendritic cells intended for the emerging cancer vaccine market. All of these products, except for the OC-I kit, have received the CE mark, making them available for sale and use in Europe.

      Our business model builds on two complementary components: (i) proprietary procedures and devices to enable certain types of stem cells and other types of human cells to be produced with excellent biological capabilities as compared with standard cell culture approaches, and (ii) the AastromReplicellTM System clinical platform that is designed to standardize and enable an effective commercialization pathway for bringing cell production to medical practice. The AastromReplicellTM System consists of an instrumentation platform, to be integrated within the hospital or other centralized facility, that can operate a variety of single-use therapy kits that are specific to the desired medical application. Through this product configuration, we intend to either directly provide cells for therapeutic use, or enable customers or potential collaborators with the capability to produce cells for therapeutic applications through sale of the AastromReplicellTM System product line and cell therapy products. This approach is intended to provide a product pathway for each cell therapy that is similar to a pharmaceutical product including regulatory approval, reimbursement, marketing and pricing. We believe that the product design of the AastromReplicellTM System will allow us to develop additional cell therapy products to provide standardization for a number of emerging cell therapies being developed by other researchers.

      The AastromReplicellTM System is both a key technology and product platform. It is used by the Company to produce its proprietary Tissue Repair and Therapeutic Cell products, and has also been developed to be sold as an independent product. Dendritic cells, a type of blood cell that have the ability to stimulate an immune response against specific targets, are being investigated as a potential new treatment for cancer and viral diseases. We intend to sell the AastromReplicellTM System and the DC-I and DCV-I kits to clinical researchers and centers that are developing dendritic cell-based vaccines designed to treat cancer and other disorders. During the year ended June 30, 2002, we initiated our external site testing of the AastromReplicellTM System and the DC-I and DCV-I with leading research centers. The Company was successful in obtaining CE Mark approvals for both kits, which is necessary for European marketing. We also plan to market these dendritic cell production device products to U.S. clinical and research groups that are developing dendritic cell-based cancer vaccines. With this capability to produce human dendritic cells, the Company is investigating plans for our own proprietary vaccines, pending additional funding or strategic partnerships. The SC-I stem cell therapy product has also received CE Mark approval, allowing us to begin commercialization activities in Europe. The SC-I cells have been in Phase III-Type clinical studies in the U.S. Additionally, the Company has recently initiated a development program for the production of bone-forming cells in the

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AastromReplicellTM System. Our OC-I cell product is being developed for the treatment of patients with degenerative bone diseases such as osteoporosis and is currently in a Phase I/II-Pilot clinical study in the U.S. The Company’s OCG-I cell product for bone grafting applications, is in active pre-clinical development.

      Although we may not market the AastromReplicellTM System or our Tissue Repair Cell and Therapeutic Cell Products in the United States for stem cell therapy unless and until approval is obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we have completed production-level versions of the AastromReplicellTM System. The System and disposables may be sold to U.S. investigators with IND approval for clinical studies. We have begun European commercialization activities for the AastromReplicellTM System instrumentation and the kits to produce the SC-I cells (led through the Company’s German-based subsidiary Zellera AG). The Company has also initiated commercialization of the DC-I and DCV-I products in Europe, and we are developing our marketing plan to establish relationships with leading sites to build a customer foundation for these products in the U.S.

Cell Therapy

      Cell therapy is the use of living cells in the treatment of medical disorders. These cells can either be used in conjunction with, or as a replacement for, traditional therapies. Cell therapy began with simple, but very effective, blood and platelet transfusions, and more recently has expanded to include specialized procedures including bone marrow, or stem cell transplants. In this procedure, stem cells are transplanted into patients to restore blood and immune system function that is damaged or destroyed by aggressive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy used to treat the cancer. Most recently, researchers are developing emerging cell therapies utilizing T-cells and dendritic cells to stimulate an immune response in patients with various forms of cancers and infectious diseases, such as viral infections. While these forms of cell therapy are emerging as potential new treatment options for several diseases, the success of cellular therapy is based, in part, on the need for care providers to be able to access therapeutic quantities of biologically active cells necessary for patient treatment. The AastromReplicellTM System is being developed to fill this need.

Therapeutic Cells for Immunotherapy

      Therapeutic Cells for Immunotherapy involves using cells of the immune system to eradicate a disease target. A number of research institutions and other companies are investigating T-lymphocytes (T-cells) and dendritic cells for this purpose. We anticipate that many of these procedures will require ex vivo cell production and manipulation, and present a significant market opportunity for our products and technologies.

      Dendritic cells are blood system-derived cells that play an important role in the function of the immune system by presenting antigen to the immune system to trigger an immune response. Dendritic cells, when exposed to cancer cells or other pathogens, can serve as “educator” cells to activate other cells of the immune system. Researchers believe that cultured dendritic cells could augment the natural ability of a patient to present tumor antigens or antigens from infectious agents to the immune system and aid in the generation of a cytotoxic T-cell response to the offending agent.

      In a study published in March 2000, researchers at leading German medical centers reported positive results of a new dendritic cell-based therapy. In this study, renal cell carcinoma patients were treated with dendritic cells that had been produced outside of the body, and then fused with tumor cells collected from the patient. The modified dendritic cells, once injected into the patient, triggered an immune response against the cancer in some patients. The results indicated a major new treatment modality against renal cell cancer. Further, additional clinical trials are currently underway at leading cancer centers to demonstrate the effectiveness of this new therapeutic approach in multiple cancer types. Common to these new therapeutic approaches is the requirement to culture and activate the dendritic cells outside of the patient (ex vivo). In these initial trials, production of the dendritic cells is performed using manual research laboratory equipment, open culture processes and specialized personnel. In order for these procedures to receive regulatory approval to be used in standard medical practice, we believe that they must be standardized and implemented through user-friendly, sterilely-closed, automated and process-controlled products. The AastromReplicellTM System is

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designed to address this key need by enabling automated therapeutic dendritic cell production through a standardized product format.

      T-lymphocytes, a class of white blood cells, play an important role in the human immune system and are responsible for the immune response in a broad spectrum of cancers and infectious diseases. Therapeutic procedures using cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) involve collecting T-lymphocytes from a patient and culturing them in an environment resulting in significantly increased numbers of T-cells including those with specificity for a particular disease target. Another approach is to generate only antigen-specific CTLs ex vivo by stimulating their growth with antigen-specific dendritic cells or other antigen-specific presenting cells. Other companies and institutions have initiated clinical trials to demonstrate CTL effectiveness. The ex vivo production of these cells under conditions for use in medical treatment represents a critical step in the advancement of this therapy and the AastromReplicellTM System in being developed to support this application.

      We have developed our DendricellTM products to provide a base dendritic cell for certain of these emerging immunotherapies. Following CE Mark approval, we are selling the DendricellTM products to in Europe. In the U.S., we intend to sell the DendricellTM for clinical research use, and we are evaluating plans to develop our own proprietary cancer vaccines, subject to additional funding or strategic partnerships

Tissue Repair Cells

      Bone marrow stromal cells (sometimes also referred to as mesenchymal cells) may also contribute to the repair of various solid tissues including bone marrow, connective tissues such as bone and cartilage, and other tissues. Industry sources estimate that over 10 million Americans suffer from osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures, especially of the hip, spine and wrist. We have initiated a Phase I/II clinical study of our OC-I cell mixture to treat severe osteoporosis. The trial will evaluate the production of bone progenitor cells in the AastromReplicellTM System from a small amount of the patient’s own stem cells. The new expanded cells will then be infused intravenously with the intention of helping to restore the degenerated bone tissue. Trial results will focus on establishing safety and measuring bone formation, blood alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin levels and bone catabolism.

      Currently, there are unmet medical needs in the areas of bone grafting, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis that could be addressed by a cell therapy approach. In bone grafting, there is an unmet need for an effective bone substitute that does not require the invasive and highly morbid autograft procedure for harvesting the patient’s own bone. An Aastrom solution could meet this need by making use of a small bone marrow aspirate, that can be collected in a simple outpatient procedure, and then expanding the sample in the Company’s cell production system, making the aspirate more viable as an alternative to autograft. In osteoarthritis, the Aastrom cell therapy approach has the potential to be a means of repairing cartilage and delaying the need for joint replacement. In the osteoporosis market, there is a need for more regenerative/disease modifying therapies that is partially being met by emerging anabolic treatments. However, the requirements for daily ingestion or injection for administration makes these emerging treatments highly inconvenient. For patients with severe osteoporosis, an Aastrom approach using a systemic infusion of expanded cells may have the potential to help rebuild bone while requiring fewer courses of therapy.

      A new form of cell therapy involves the production of chondrocytes for the restoration of cartilage. Chondrocyte therapy involves the surgical removal of a small amount of tissue from the patient’s knee and a production of therapeutic quantity of chondrocytes from this surgical biopsy. The cells are then re-implanted back into the knee. Published reports indicate that such cells then reestablish mature articular cartilage. Currently, this cell production process is completed in highly specialized laboratory facilities using trained scientists and manual laboratory procedures. We believe that the AastromReplicellTM System may have the potential to reduce costs associated with the cell production procedure and, if successfully developed by us for this application, may eventually facilitate the transfer of the cell production capability away from highly specialized facilities to regional clinical care sites. It is also conceivable that marrow cells, due to their multi-potential capability, could generate cartilage forming-cells replacing the need to collect chondrocytes.

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      Recently, marrow-derived cells have been demonstrated to be able to form other unrelated tissues of the body such as muscle, nerve, brain, heart and liver. When studied in small animal models, marrow cells injected directly into the heart or mobilized into the blood stream have shown significant improvement in heart function after a myocardial infarct allowing more mice to survive. In these studies, marrow cells differentiated into cells of the damaged heart such as muscle and blood vessel. The potential implications of these observations are enormous, raising the possibility of organ regeneration from adult-derived stem cells avoiding the many issues of embryonal stem cells. Such observations will require demonstration in large animal models and eventually, in human trials.

      The expansion of Aastrom’s Tissue Repair Cell program, as mentioned above, is derived from the progress of Aastrom’s lead SC-I bone marrow stem cell product. Aastrom’s ex vivo-produced SC-I bone marrow stem cell product has demonstrated clinical success for engraftment in humans. The SC-I cell mixture is comprised of expanded bone marrow, including both hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, and is intended for the restoration of normal blood and immune system function in patients that have undergone aggressive chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The SC-I cell mixture is intended to provide either an alternative method of obtaining cells used in stem cell transplantation, or to augment cells obtained through a peripheral blood stem cell (“PBSC”) collection in situations where it is difficult to obtain the desired quantity of PBSCs.

      Once collected, the stem cell mixture is infused intravenously and the stem and stromal accessory cells migrate into the bone cavity where they engraft to form new marrow tissue. The hematopoietic progenitor cell components of the cell mixture provide early restoration of circulating white blood cells and platelets. The replenished bone marrow will normally provide long-term hematopoietic function, but complete restoration of bone marrow may, in some cases, take months following myeloablative cancer therapy. When the patient’s hematopoietic system contains malignant cells, such as in the case of leukemia, stem cells from a suitable donor are generally required in order to avoid reintroducing the disease during cell infusion if stem cells for the transplant had been collected from the patient. Such donor-derived transplants are termed “allogeneic” transplants. Procedures using cells derived from the patient are termed “autologous” transplants.

      We currently have a clinical trial evaluating the SC-I cell mixture in breast cancer patients and lymphoma patients. In this study, the SC-I cell mixture is being used to augment low-doses of PBSCs that were collected from the patient. In July 2002, Aastrom’s SC-I autologous bone marrow stem cells produced using the AastromReplicellTM System, were granted orphan product status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Aastrom’s therapeutic ex vivo-produced bone marrow stem cells received the orphan product designation for use in cancer patients requiring a stem cell transplant following high-dose chemotherapy, but who are unable to provide sufficient numbers of blood stem cells for adequate treatment using current transplant methods. This orphan product classification is awarded to select approaches that offer potential therapeutic value in the treatment of rare disease and conditions.

Aastrom’s Proprietary Core Technologies

      Our technology platform consists of two components: (i) proprietary processes, “single-pass perfusion”, and culture devices to enable certain types of stem cells and other types of human cells to be produced with superior biological capabilities as compared with standard cell culture approaches, and (ii) the AastromReplicellTM System clinical cell production platform that is designed to standardize and enable an effective GMP-compliant commercialization pathway for bringing therapeutic cell production to medical practice. The AastromReplicellTM System consists of an instrumentation platform, to be integrated within the hospital or other centralized facilities, that can operate a variety of single-use therapy kits that are specific to the desired medical application. Through this product configuration, we intend either to directly provide cells for therapeutic use, or to enable customers or potential collaborators with the capability to produce cells for therapeutic applications through sale of the AastromReplicellTM System product line and cell therapy products. This approach is intended to provide a product pathway for each cell therapy that is similar to a pharmaceutical product including regulatory approval, reimbursement, marketing and pricing. We believe that the product design of the AastromReplicellTM System will allow us to develop additional cell therapy products to provide standardization for a number of emerging cell therapies being developed by other researchers.

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Aastrom’s Single-Pass Perfusion for Human Cell Growth

      We have developed proprietary processes and patented technologies for ex vivo production of therapeutic stem and progenitor cells as well as other key cells found in human bone marrow. This proprietary process is called “single-pass perfusion” and provides a cell culture environment that attempts to mimic the biology and physiology of natural bone marrow. This process enables the production of stem and early and late-stage progenitor cells needed for an effective bone marrow stem cell therapy procedure. When this process is applied to other cell types, the resulting cell product appears to have enhanced biologic function as compared to cells produced through standard static culture processes. In pre-clinical studies performed at Aastrom, T-cells produced using our proprietary processes appear to have a significantly higher replicative capability. Further, dendritic cells produced using this process appear to have an enhanced ability to present antigen to the immune system. We believe that these benefits can improve the overall clinical effectiveness of these procedures.

      Growth factors can be added to stimulate specific cell lineages to grow cells, or to increase cell growth, to meet a particular therapeutic objective. The stem cell growth process can best be completed with little or no additional stem cell selection or purification procedures. This stem cell replication process can also enable or augment the genetic modification of cells by providing the cell division step needed for new genes to integrate into the stem cell DNA. Other currently available cell culture methods tend to result in a loss of stem cells, either through death or through differentiation into mature cells. The same perfusion approach that enables stem cells to grow and improves the biological features of other types of human cells, when compared with cells grown using standard cell culture techniques. We have exclusive rights to several issued U.S. patents that cover these processes and cell compositions.

      We have developed a proprietary cell culture chamber to implement our process technology. The culture chamber can produce cells on a clinical scale and allows for recovery of the cells for therapeutic use. Our pre-clinical data indicate that our cell culture chamber may be used for growing various types of human therapeutic cells, such as stem cells, T-cells and dendritic cells used for immunotherapies, chondrocytes for cartilage replacement, and mesenchymal tissues for bone and cartilage replacement. We hold exclusive rights to issued U.S. patents and additional applications for our cell culture chamber device technology.

 
The AastromReplicell TM System

      The AastromReplicellTM System is our proprietary clinical-scale cell production platform to enable the large scale ex vivo production of a variety of therapeutic cells at healthcare facilities, independent laboratories, transplant centers, blood banks, and centralized cell production facilities. It has been designed to implement our stem cell growth process as well as processes for the production of other cell types. The AastromReplicellTM System is comprised of several components, including single-use therapy kits such as the SC-I, CB-I, OC-I, DC-I, and DCV-I Therapy kits, and microprocessor-controlled instruments. The single use therapy kits contain an AastromReplicellTM System Cell Cassette cartridge which contains our proprietary cell culture chamber, supply and waste reservoirs and harvest bag and process specific software which provides the cell production processing parameters to the AastromReplicellTM System instruments. The microprocessor-controlled instruments include the AastromReplicellTM System Incubator which controls the culture conditions for the production of cells within the Cell Cassette, and the AastromReplicellTM System Processor which automates the procedure sequences such as the inoculation of cells into, and harvesting of the cells from, the Cell Cassette. The AastromReplicellTM System Manager is user interface software that simultaneously tracks and monitors the cell production process in multiple incubators and records relevant process variables and operator actions.

      The AastromReplicellTM System is designed to be operated with minimal operator activity by a medical or laboratory technician and can implement clinical scale cell production at the patient care site. The endpoint of the AastromReplicellTM System process is a blood-bag containing cell product. The control and documentation features of the AastromReplicellTM System have been designed to meet good manufacturing practices (GMP) requirements for the therapeutic production of cells. The product configuration of the AastromReplicellTM System consists of an instrumentation platform that can be integrated within the hospital or other centralized

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facility operating a variety of single-use therapy kits that are specific to the desired medical application. The System can be scaled-up producing simultaneously multiple independent cell batches and is suitable for installation in a regional or de-centralized cell production facility. This is intended to provide a product pathway for each cell therapy that is similar to a pharmaceutical product including regulatory approval, reimbursement, marketing and pricing. We believe that the product design of the AastromReplicellTM System will allow us to develop additional cell therapy kits to provide a commercialization pathway for a number of emerging cell therapies being developed by other researchers.
 
Potential Advantages of AastromReplicell TM System

      The AastromReplicellTM System is designed to enable a cost-efficient and minimally invasive alternative, or supplement, to existing procedures, which could offer numerous advantages for both patients and medical staff:

      The AastromReplicell TM System can generate larger quantities of cells from a small starting sample. Alternative procedures to obtain the large quantity of stem cells necessary for transplantation require a patient to endure up to multiple hours of procedure time or up to approximately 100 invasive needle sticks to obtain the necessary quantity of stem cells required for the transplant. The AastromReplicellTM System offers an alternative that requires less than two hours of procedure time and significantly fewer needle sticks.

      The AastromReplicell TM System enables the production of certain cells, such as umbilical cord blood (CB) cells, for which there might otherwise be insufficient quantities available for many transplants. Having access to a sufficient number of cells is essential to successful clinical outcomes. This is particularly the case with umbilical cord blood transplants. This source of stem cells is increasingly being used as an alternative to traditional stem cell transplant procedures. However, the limited quantities of available cells and difficulties in expanding the starting volumes to therapeutic quantities have restricted the widespread practice of CB transplants. The AastromReplicellTM System is designed to solve this dilemma by providing the capability to easily and cost-effectively expand CB cells to higher quantities for therapeutic treatments.

      Pre-clinical tests have demonstrated tumor cell purging of certain cancer cells in the AastromReplicell TM System expansion process. Cancer patients with tumor metastases, in which the cancer has spread to the blood and bone marrow, have not traditionally been candidates for autologous stem cell transplants because such transplant might reintroduce cancer cells into the patient. Moreover, patients may have undetected tumor cells present in their marrow or PBSC transplant, which could re-establish cancer in the patient following transplant. Our initial pre-clinical results, as well as studies conducted by third-party investigators, have shown that some primary human tumor cells die or do not grow during hematopoietic cell culture. The smaller volume of starting cells used for the AastromReplicellTM System compared with bone marrow harvest or PBSC transplants may provide approximately 10 to 70 fold less tumor cells in a transplant. Further, in an evaluation of 14 tumor-contaminated bone marrow samples that were expanded with the AastromReplicellTM System process, the presence of breast cancer cells in each sample was either substantially reduced or was no longer detectable. Tumor cells that were detectable after expansion in the AastromReplicellTM System showed a significant reduction in clonogenicity (the ability to replicate). We believe that this combination of passive depletion during culture with the lower starting volume of tumor cells may result in a tumor-free or tumor-reduced cell product for transplant. The clinical benefit of such tumor depletion, if any, will vary depending upon the type of cancer and state of disease.

      Supplemental therapy with AastromReplicell TM System produced cells. Collection of cells for transplant is a variable procedure requiring longer collection procedures for some patients compared to others. The AastromReplicellTM System offers a means to augment current collection techniques, thereby reducing variability and the overall collection burden for the patient and care provider. For some patients, these collection techniques are unable to collect enough cells for a therapeutic dose and the AastromReplicellTM System offers a means to continue with treatment.

      The AastromReplicell TM System automates the process of growing human cells and is designed to be used directly in a hospital setting. Growing human cells has largely been a research laboratory process, requiring substantial time and technical expertise. The AastromReplicellTM System is designed to provide sterilely-

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closed, automated cell production capabilities directly at the patient care site in compliance with regulatory standards, providing process reliability and reducing the need for highly skilled operators.

Product Development

      The AastromReplicellTM System is an automated clinical system designed to be used by medical personnel at hospitals and patient care centers to produce therapeutic cells for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases and the restoration of solid tissues.

      The AastromReplicellTM System is designed as a family of products consisting of an instrumentation platform that operates single-use, patient-specific therapy kits. Each therapy kit, which is specific to the desired cell or tissue type, is operated by the AastromReplicellTM System instrument platform, which automates the otherwise complex cell production processes. This instrument platform allows for on-site cell manufacturing directly at the hospital that is compliant with GMPs. The process instructions contained within each therapy kit, and where applicable, the reagents, growth medium and cytokines, are specific for the production of each cell type. This product design feature provides for a variety of therapy kits to be integrated into the AastromReplicellTM System product line.

      Our development efforts have been focused on the development of the SC-I kit for the production of bone marrow stem cells, the CB-I Therapy kit for the production of cord blood cells, and the OC kits for the production of bone forming cells. All of these products use Aastrom’s proprietary process and device technologies. We believe that additional therapy kits may be developed for application to a variety of other emerging cell therapies. The AastromReplicellTM System has the potential to supplant current manual cell culture methods to produce therapeutic quantities of cell types such as T-cells, dendritic cells, cell-based cancer vaccines, chondrocytes, mesenchymal cells, keratinocytes and neuronal cells. For example, Aastrom recently developed the DC-I and DCV-I kits for dendritic cell production. In current development is a clinical trial to demonstrate bone formation in patients with large bone fractures. Other than a limited application of chondrocyte therapy, novel cell therapies are still in early stages of development by third parties, and no assurance can be given that such other cell therapies will be successfully developed. Potential advantages of the AastromReplicellTM System in these therapies may include: (i) reducing labor and capital costs; (ii) enhancing process reliability; (iii) automating quality assurance and process record keeping; (iv) reducing the need for specialized, environmentally controlled facilities; (v) providing greater accessibility of these procedures to care providers and patients; and, (vi) in certain cases, providing a more biologically active cell product.

      Modification of such processes and application of our products to the expansion of other cell types will require additional development of specialized cell culture capabilities that may need to be incorporated within our existing product platform. Such modifications may require us to raise substantial additional funds, or to seek additional collaborative partners, or both. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully modify or develop existing or future products to enable such additional cell production processes. Our business opportunity is dependent upon successful development and regulatory approval of these novel cell therapies. No assurance can be given that such novel therapies will be successfully developed by other companies or approved by applicable regulatory authorities, or that our processes or product candidates will find successful application in such therapies. In addition, we may be required to obtain license rights to such technologies in order to develop or modify existing or future products for use in such therapies. No assurance can be given that we will be able to obtain such licenses or that such licenses, if available, could be obtained on commercially reasonable terms. See “Clinical Development” and “Business Risks.”

Clinical Development

      The AastromReplicellTM System is being evaluated in multi-site clinical trials in the U.S. under Investigational Device Exemptions (IDEs) and Investigational New Drug (IND) from the FDA. The initial goals of our clinical trial program are to obtain a Pre-Market Approval (PMA) in the U.S., necessary to market the AastromReplicellTM System for autologous stem cell therapy, and to support European marketing activities.

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      We have conducted clinical trials in the U.S. evaluating stem cells produced in the AastromReplicellTM System from a small starting amount of bone marrow. Results from initial studies demonstrated the ability of the AastromReplicellTM System to safely and reliably produce stem and progenitor cells that engraft and restore blood system function in cancer patients who had undergone very aggressive chemotherapy. Further, the small volume aspirate, along with a purging of contaminated tumor cells during the stem cell production has indicated a way to offer patients a transplant with a lower risk of receiving back tumor cells.

      We are now conducting a randomized U.S. clinical trial evaluating the AastromReplicellTM System to compliment traditional therapies by augmenting stem cells collected from a single PBSC apheresis procedure. The objectives of this study are to demonstrate that an optimal targeted recovery can be achieved using the AastromReplicellTM System-produced cells with a sub-optimal PBSC dose that otherwise would not provide this desired outcome. This procedure appears to improve the certainty of hematopoietic engraftment by providing a more reliable means of cell collection and blood count recovery.

      We have also conducted clinical feasibility trials to evaluate cord blood (“CB”) cells produced in the AastromReplicellTM System to improve recoveries of pediatric and adult patients requiring donor derived (or allogeneic) stem cell transplants. Results of the pediatric transplants indicated that AastromReplicellTM System-produced cells were safe and well tolerated by the patients. Results from our adult cord blood trial may suggest that the AastromReplicellTM System could increase the quantity of cord blood cells available and enable adult-sized patients to undergo a transplant when they may not otherwise be CB transplant candidates due to low cell dose. We have extended these trials into a comparative trial with concurrent controls. Several CB banking institutions are now being established by other organizations. This banking infrastructure, together with the expansion capabilities of the AastromReplicellTM System, may lead to CB as a promising new source of cells for therapeutic use.

      The preliminary results of our pre-pivotal trials may not be indicative of results that will be obtained from subsequent patients in the trials or from more extensive trials. Further, there can be no assurance that our pre-pivotal or pivotal trials will be successful, or that biologic license application (BLA) registration or required foreign regulatory approvals for the AastromReplicellTM System will be obtained in a timely fashion, or at all. See “Business Risks.”

Aastrom Product Candidates for Ex Vivo Gene Therapy

      The Company has different technologies for the production of cells with genetic modifications. However, the Company is not currently actively developing products based on this technology.

Manufacturing

      We have established relationships with third party manufacturers that are FDA registered as suppliers for the manufacture of medical products to manufacture various components of the AastromReplicellTM System.

      In April 1998, we entered into a manufacturing agreement with SeaMED, now a wholly owned division of Plexus Corporation, for the commercial manufacturing of the instrument components of the AastromReplicellTM System. The initial term of the manufacturing agreement was until April 2001, after which the agreement is automatically renewed until terminated upon a 24-month notice from Plexus or a 6-month notice from us. We retain all proprietary rights to our intellectual property that is utilized by Plexus pursuant to this agreement. Plexus has delivered notice of their intent to terminate the manufacturing agreement, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, on or before February 6, 2004. As a result, we are in advanced negotiations with another supplier which we expect to result in continued supply on commercially reasonable terms. However, there can be no assurance that the new agreement will be completed or that the new agreement will be on terms as favorable to us as the existing contract.

      In March 1996, we entered into a License and Supply Agreement with Immunex Corporation, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen Corporation, for an initial five-year term to purchase and resell certain cytokines and ancillary materials for use in conjunction with the AastromReplicellTM System. The agreement, as amended, allows for us to extend the term for successive two-year terms upon written notice and is subject

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to certain minimum purchase requirements. We have provided a notice extending the agreement through March 2003. The agreement provided for Immunex to receive up-front and renewal fees totaling $5,500,000. Pursuant to agreements between Immunex and Aastrom, the annual fees due in March 1998, 1999 and 2000 were each paid by us through the issuance of $1,100,000 in our common stock. In August 1997, Aastrom and Immunex amended the agreement to expand our territorial rights to use and sell such materials on a worldwide basis. The supply agreement may be terminated by either party effective immediately upon written notice of termination to the other party in the event that such party materially breaches the agreement and such breach continues unremedied after notice and expiration of a specified cure period or in the event that a bankruptcy proceeding is commenced against a party and is not dismissed or stayed within a 45-day period. In addition, Immunex has the right to cease the supply to us of cytokines and ancillary materials if we fail to purchase a minimum amount of our forecasted annual needs from Immunex after notice to us, and expiration of a specified cure period. In the event that Immunex elects to cease to supply to us cytokines and ancillary materials or is prevented from supplying such materials to us by reason of force majeure, limited manufacturing rights will be transferred to us under certain circumstances. There is, however, no assurance that we could successfully manufacture the compounds ourselves or identify others that could manufacture these compounds to acceptable quality standards and costs, if at all.

      In December 1996, we entered into a Collaborative Supply Agreement with Anchor Advanced Products, Inc., Mid-State Plastics Division (MSP), now a division company of Moll Industries. Under this agreement, MSP conducted both pre-production manufacturing development and now performs commercial manufacturing and assembly of the Cell Cassette component of the AastromReplicellTM System for us. Throughout the term of this agreement, we have agreed to treat MSP as our preferred supplier of Cell Cassettes, using MSP as our supplier of at least 60% of our requirements for Cell Cassettes. The term of the manufacturing agreement is seven years, expiring in December 2003. We retain all proprietary rights to our intellectual property that is utilized by MSP pursuant to this agreement.

      On September 10, 2002 a major creditor of Moll filed an involuntary petition for Bankruptcy against Moll. On September 19, 2002 Moll announced that it had converted the case to a voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization case and had received preliminary approval for a $50 million debtor-in-possession financing. Although there is a risk that these factors may affect our supply of components, we believe that Moll will continue to meet our supply needs.

      There can be no assurance that we will be able to continue our present arrangements with our suppliers, supplement existing relationships or establish new relationships or that we will be able to identify and obtain the ancillary materials that are necessary to develop our product candidates in the future. Our dependence upon third parties for the supply and manufacture of such items could adversely affect our ability to develop and deliver commercially feasible products on a timely and competitive basis. See “Business Risks.”

Patents and Proprietary Rights

      Our success depends in part on our ability, and the ability of our licensors, to obtain patent protection for our products and processes. We have exclusive rights to over 20 issued U.S. patents, and non-exclusive rights to one other issued U.S. patent. These patents present claims to: (i) certain methods for ex vivo stem cell division as well as ex vivo human hematopoietic stem cell stable genetic transformation and expanding and harvesting a human hematopoietic stem cell pool; (ii) certain apparatus for cell culturing, including a bioreactor suitable for culturing human stem cells or human hematopoietic cells; (iii) certain methods of infecting or transfecting target cells with vectors; and (iv) a cell composition containing human stem cells or progenitor cells, or genetically modified stem cells, when such cells are produced in an ex vivo medium exchange culture. Certain patent equivalents to the U.S. patents have also been issued in other jurisdictions including Australia and Canada and under the European Patent Convention. These patents are due to expire beginning in 2006. In addition, we and our exclusive licensors have filed applications for patents in the United States and equivalent applications in certain other countries claiming other aspects of our products and processes, including a number of U.S. patent applications and corresponding applications in other countries related to various components of the AastromReplicellTM System.

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      The validity and breadth of claims in medical technology patents involve complex legal and factual questions and, therefore, may be highly uncertain. No assurance can be given that any patents based on pending patent applications or any future patent applications by us, or our licensors, will be issued, that the scope of any patent protection will exclude competitors or provide competitive advantages to us, that any of the patents that have been or may be issued to us or our licensors will be held valid if subsequently challenged or that others will not claim rights in or ownership of the patents and other proprietary rights held or licensed by us. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that others have not developed or will not develop similar products, duplicate any of our products or design around any patents that have been or may be issued to us or our licensors. Since patent applications in the United States are maintained in secrecy until patents issue, we also cannot be certain that others did not first file applications for inventions covered by our, and our licensors’ pending patent applications, nor can we be certain that we will not infringe any patents that may be issued to others on such applications.

      We rely on certain licenses granted by the University of Michigan and others for certain patent rights. If we breach such agreements or otherwise fail to comply with such agreements, or if such agreements expire or are otherwise terminated, we may lose our rights in such patents, which would have a material adverse affect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Research and License Agreements.”

      We also rely on trade secrets and unpatentable know-how that we seek to protect, in part, by confidentiality agreements. It is our policy to require our employees, consultants, contractors, manufacturers, outside scientific collaborators and sponsored researchers, board of directors, technical review board and other advisors to execute confidentiality agreements upon the commencement of employment or consulting relationships with us. These agreements provide that all confidential information developed or made known to the individual during the course of the individual’s relationship with us is to be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties except in specific limited circumstances. We also require signed confidentiality or material transfer agreements from any company that is to receive our confidential information. In the case of employees, consultants and contractors, the agreements generally provide that all inventions conceived by the individual while rendering services to us shall be assigned to us as the exclusive property of Aastrom. There can be no assurance, however, that these agreements will not be breached, that we would have adequate remedies for any breach, or that our trade secrets or unpatentable know-how will not otherwise become known or be independently developed by competitors.

      Our success will also depend in part on our ability to develop commercially viable products without infringing the proprietary rights of others. We have not conducted freedom of use patent searches and no assurance can be given that patents do not exist or could not be filed which would have an adverse affect on our ability to market our products or maintain our competitive position with respect to our products. If our technology components, devices, designs, products, processes or other subject matter are claimed under other existing United States or foreign patents or are otherwise protected by third party proprietary rights, we may be subject to infringement actions. In such event, we may challenge the validity of such patents or other proprietary rights or we may be required to obtain licenses from such companies in order to develop, manufacture or market our products. There can be no assurances that we would be able to obtain such licenses or that such licenses, if available, could be obtained on commercially reasonable terms. Furthermore, the failure to either develop a commercially viable alternative or obtain such licenses could result in delays in marketing our proposed products or the inability to proceed with the development, manufacture or sale of products requiring such licenses, which could have a material adverse affect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we are required to defend ourselves against charges of patent infringement or to protect our proprietary rights against third parties, substantial costs will be incurred regardless of whether we are successful. Such proceedings are typically protracted with no certainty of success. An adverse outcome could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties and force us to curtail or cease our development and sale of our products and processes.

      Certain of our, and our licensors’, research has been or is being funded in part by the Department of Commerce and by a Small Business Innovation Research Grant obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services. As a result of such funding, the U.S. Government has certain rights in the technology developed with the funding. These rights include a non-exclusive, paid-up, worldwide license under such

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inventions for any governmental purpose. In addition, the government has the right to require us to grant an exclusive license under any of such inventions to a third party if the government determines that: (i) adequate steps have not been taken to commercialize such inventions, (ii) such action is necessary to meet public health or safety needs, or (iii) such action is necessary to meet requirements for public use under federal regulations. Additionally, under the federal Bayh Dole Act, a party which acquires an exclusive license for an invention that was partially funded by a federal research grant is subject to the following government rights: (i) products using the invention which are sold in the United States are to be manufactured substantially in the United States, unless a waiver is obtained; (ii) the government may force the granting of a license to a third party who will make and sell the needed product if the licensee does not pursue reasonable commercialization of a needed product using the invention; and (iii) the U.S. Government may use the invention for its own needs.
 
Research and License Agreements

      In March 1992, we entered into a License Agreement with the University of Michigan, as contemplated by a Research Agreement executed in August 1989 relating to the ex vivo production of human cells. Pursuant to this License Agreement, as amended: (i) we acquired exclusive worldwide license rights to the patents and know-how for the production of blood cells and bone marrow cells as described in the University of Michigan’s research project or which resulted from certain further research conducted through December 1994; and (ii) we are obligated to pay to the University of Michigan a royalty equal to 2% of the net sales of products which are covered by the University of Michigan’s patents. Unless it is terminated earlier at our option or due to a material breach by us, the License Agreement will continue in affect until the latest expiration date of the patents to which the License Agreement applies.

Government Regulation

      Our research and development activities and the manufacturing and marketing of our products are subject to the laws and regulations of governmental authorities in the United States and other countries in which our products will be marketed. Specifically, in the United States, the FDA, among other activities, regulates new product approvals to establish safety and efficacy of these products. Governments in other countries have similar requirements for testing and marketing. In the United States, in addition to meeting FDA regulations, we are also subject to other federal laws, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Environmental Protection Act, as well as certain state laws.

 
Regulatory Process in the United States

      To our knowledge, we are the first to develop a GMP-compliant cell culture system for ex vivo human cell production to be sold for therapeutic applications. Therefore, to a certain degree, the manner in which the FDA will regulate our products is uncertain.

      Our products are potentially subject to regulation as medical products under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and as biological products under the Public Health Service Act. Different regulatory requirements may apply to our products depending on how they are categorized by the FDA under these laws. The FDA has indicated that it intends to regulate the cells produced in the AastromReplicellTM System as licensed biologic through the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. However, there can be no assurance that the FDA will ultimately regulate the AastromReplicellTM System in this manner.

      The FDA is still in the process of developing its requirements with respect to somatic cell therapy and gene cell therapy products and has issued draft documents concerning the regulation of cellular and tissue-based products. If the FDA adopts the regulatory approach set forth in the draft document, the FDA will require regulatory approval for certain human cellular or tissue based products, including cells produced in the AastromReplicell System, through a biologic license application (BLA).

      The FDA has published regulations which require registration of certain facilities, which may include our customers, and is in the process of publishing regulations for the manufacture or manipulation of human cellular or tissue based products which may impact our customers. We believe that the fixed validated process

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in a sterile disposable provided by our products will assist our customers in meeting these requirements, but the regulations may change prior to final release.

      Approval of new medical devices and biological products is a lengthy procedure leading from development of a new product through pre-clinical and clinical testing. This process takes a number of years and the expenditure of significant resources. There can be no assurance that Aastrom’s product candidates will ultimately receive regulatory approval.

      Regardless of how our product candidates are regulated, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other Federal statutes and regulations govern or influence the research, testing, manufacture, safety, labeling, storage, record-keeping, approval, distribution, use, reporting, advertising and promotion of such products. Noncompliance with applicable requirements can result in civil penalties, recall, injunction or seizure of products, refusal of the government to approve or clear product approval applications or to allow us to enter into government supply contracts, withdrawal of previously approved applications and criminal prosecution.

 
Product Approval

      In order to obtain FDA approval of a new medical product, sponsors must generally submit proof of safety and efficacy. In some cases, such proof entails extensive pre-clinical and clinical laboratory tests. The testing, preparation of necessary applications and processing of those applications by the FDA is expensive and may take several years to complete. There can be no assurance that the FDA will act favorably or in a timely manner in reviewing submitted applications, and we may encounter significant difficulties or costs in our efforts to obtain FDA approvals, in turn, which could delay or preclude us from marketing any products we may develop. The FDA may also require post-marketing testing and surveillance of approved products, or place other conditions on the approvals. These requirements could cause it to be more difficult or expensive to sell the products, and could therefore restrict the commercial applications of such products. Product approvals may be withdrawn if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained or if problems occur following initial marketing. For patented technologies, delays imposed by the governmental approval process may materially reduce the period during which we will have the exclusive right to exploit such technologies.

      If human clinical trials of a proposed medical product are required, the manufacturer or distributor of the product will have to file an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) or Investigational New Drug (IND) submission with the FDA prior to commencing human clinical trials. The submission must be supported by data, typically including the results of pre-clinical and laboratory testing. Following submission of the IDE or IND, the FDA has 30 days to review the application and raise safety and other clinical trial issues. If we are not notified of objections within that period, clinical trials may be initiated, and human clinical trials may commence at a specified number of investigational sites with the number of patients approved by the FDA. We have submitted several IDEs for the AastromReplicellTM System, and have conducted clinical studies under these IDEs.

      Some of our products may be classified as Class III medical devices. The FDA categorizes devices into three regulatory classifications subject to varying degrees of regulatory control. In general, Class I devices require compliance with labeling and record keeping regulations, Quality System Regulation (QSR), 510(k) pre-market notification, and are subject to other general controls. Class II devices may be subject to additional regulatory controls, including performance standards and other special controls, such as post-market surveillance. Class III devices, which are either invasive or life-sustaining products, or new products never before marketed (for example, non-“substantially equivalent” devices), require clinical testing to demonstrate safety and effectiveness and FDA approval of a PMA prior to marketing and distribution. The FDA also has the authority to require clinical testing of Class I and Class II devices.

      We, and any contract manufacturer, may be required to be registered as a medical device manufacturer with the FDA. These manufacturers will be inspected on a routine basis by the FDA for compliance with the FDA’s QSR regulations. These regulations would require that we, and any contract manufacturer, design, manufacture and service products and maintain documents in a prescribed manner with respect to manufacturing, testing, distribution, storage, design control and service activities. The Medical Device Reporting regulation requires that we provide information to the FDA on deaths or serious injuries alleged to be

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associated with the use of our devices, as well as product malfunctions that are likely to cause or contribute to death or serious injury if the malfunction were to recur. In addition, the FDA prohibits a company from promoting an approved device for unapproved applications and reviews company labeling for accuracy.

      We believe that the cells produced in the AastromReplicellTM System will be regulated by the FDA as a licensed biologic, although there can be no assurance that the FDA will not choose to regulate this product in a different manner. The FDA categorizes human cell or tissue based products as either minimally manipulated or more than minimally manipulated, and has proposed that more than minimally manipulated products be regulated through a “tiered approach intended to regulate human cellular and tissue based products only to the extent necessary to protect public health.” For products which may be regulated as biologics, the FDA requires: (i) preclinical laboratory and animal testing; (ii) submission to the FDA of an IND or IDE application which must be effective prior to the initiation of human clinical studies; (iii) adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the product for its intended use; (iv) submission to the FDA of a biologic license application (BLA); and (v) review and approval of the BLA as well as inspections of the manufacturing facility by the FDA prior to commercial marketing of the product.

      Preclinical testing covers laboratory evaluation of product chemistry and formulation as well as animal studies to assess the safety and efficacy of the product. The results of these tests are submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Following the submission of an IND, the FDA has 30 days to review the application and raise safety and other clinical trial issues. If we are not notified of objections within that period, clinical trials may be initiated. Clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases. Phase I represents the initial administration of the drug or biologic to a small group of humans, either healthy volunteers or patients, to test for safety and other relevant factors. Phase II involves studies in a small number of patients to assess the efficacy of the product, to ascertain dose tolerance and the optimal dose range and to gather additional data relating to safety and potential adverse affects. Once an investigational drug is found to have some efficacy and an acceptable safety profile in the targeted patient population, multi-center Phase III studies are initiated to establish safety and efficacy in an expanded patient population and multiple clinical study sites. The FDA reviews both the clinical plans and the results of the trials and may request us to discontinue the trials at any time if there are significant safety issues.

      The results of the preclinical tests and clinical trials are submitted to the FDA in the form of a BLA for marketing approval. The testing and approval process is likely to require substantial time and effort and there can be no assurance that any approval will be granted on a timely basis, if at all. Additional animal studies or clinical trials may be requested during the FDA review period that may delay marketing approval. After FDA approval for the initial indications, further clinical trials may be necessary to gain approval for the use of the product for additional indications. The FDA requires that adverse affects be reported to the FDA and may also require post-marketing testing to monitor for adverse affects, which can involve significant expense.

      Under current requirements, facilities manufacturing biological products must be licensed. To accomplish this, a BLA must be filed with the FDA. The BLA describes the facilities, equipment and personnel involved in the manufacturing process. An establishment license is granted on the basis of inspections of the applicant’s facilities in which the primary focus is on compliance with GMPs and the ability to consistently manufacture the product in the facility in accordance with the BLA. If the FDA finds the inspection unsatisfactory, it may decline to approve the BLA, resulting in a delay in production of products.

      As part of the approval process for human biological products, each manufacturing facility must be registered and inspected by the FDA prior to marketing approval. In addition, state agency inspections and approvals may also be required for a biological product to be shipped out of state.

 
Regulatory Process in Europe

      The AastromReplicellTM instruments and disposables are currently being regulated in Europe as a Class I Sterile, Class IIb or Class III medical device, under the authority of the Medical Device Directives (MDD) being implemented by European Union (EU) member countries. These classifications apply to medical laboratory equipment and supplies including, among other products, many devices that are used for

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the collection and processing of blood for patient therapy. Certain ancillary products (e.g., biological reagents) used as part of the AastromReplicellTM System are treated as Class III medical devices.

      The MDD regulations vest the authority to permit affixing of the CE Mark with various Notified Bodies. These are private and state organizations which operate under license from the member states of the EU to certify that appropriate quality assurance standards and compliance procedures are followed by developers and manufacturers of medical device products or, alternatively, that a manufactured medical product meets a more limited set of requirements. Notified Bodies are also given the responsibility for determination of the appropriate standards to apply to a medical product. Receipt of permission to affix the CE Mark enables a company to sell a medical device in all EU member countries. Other registration requirements may also need to be satisfied in certain countries.

      We have received permission from our Notified Body (The British Standards Institute) to affix the CE Mark to the AastromReplicellTM instrumentation and components for the SC-I kit, CB-I kit, DC-I kit and DCV-I kit. This has allowed us to market these products in the European Union. There can be no assurance that the AastromReplicellTM System will continue to be regulated under its current status, any change in which would affect our ability to sell the product and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Competition

      The biotechnology and medical device industries are characterized by rapidly evolving technology and intense competition. Our competitors include major pharmaceutical, medical device, medical products, chemical and specialized biotechnology companies, many of which have financial, technical and marketing resources significantly greater than ours. In addition, many biotechnology companies have formed collaborations with large, established companies to support research, development and commercialization of products that may be competitive with ours. Academic institutions, governmental agencies and other public and private research organizations are also conducting research activities and seeking patent protection and may commercialize products on their own or through joint ventures. We are aware of certain other products manufactured or under development by competitors that are used for the prevention or treatment of certain diseases and health conditions that we have targeted for product development. There can be no assurance that developments by others will not render our product candidates or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive, that we will be able to keep pace with new technological developments or that our product candidates will be able to supplant established products and methodologies in the therapeutic areas that are targeted by us. The foregoing factors could have a material adverse affect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

      Our products under development are expected to address a broad range of existing and new markets. We believe that our stem cell therapy products will, in large part, face competition by existing procedures rather than novel new products. Further, in instances that do not require our patented processes for growing cells, we will face competition for our products from existing manual cell culture techniques, which techniques may be viewed by potential customers as more cost effective than our process. Our competition will be determined in part by the potential indications for which our products are developed and ultimately approved by regulatory authorities. In addition, the first product to reach the market in a therapeutic or preventive area is often at a significant competitive advantage relative to later entrants to the market. Accordingly, the relative speed with which we, or our potential corporate partners, can develop products, complete the clinical trials and approval processes and supply commercial quantities of the products to the market are expected to be important competitive factors. Our competitive position will also depend on our ability to attract and retain qualified scientific and other personnel, develop effective proprietary products, develop and implement production and marketing plans, obtain and maintain patent protection and secure adequate capital resources. We expect our products, if approved for sale, to compete primarily on the basis of product efficacy, safety, patient convenience, reliability, value and patent position.

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      Aastrom competes in several key business segments. Within each business segment, we can identify the following competitors: (i) Tissue Repair Cell: Genzyme, Osiris and Johnson & Johnson are active in the market, and (ii) Dendritic Cells: Dendreon (vaccine market only).

Employees

      As of August 31, 2002, we employed approximately 44 individuals on a full time equivalent basis. A significant number of our management and professional employees have had prior experience with pharmaceutical, biotechnology or medical product companies. None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and management considers relations with our employees to be good.

Executive Officers of Aastrom

      Our executive officers, and their respective ages as of August 31, 2002, are as follows:

             
Name Age Position



R. Douglas Armstrong, Ph.D. 
    49     President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Michael S. Durski
    52     Vice President Finance & Administration, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer
Brian S. Hampson
    45     Vice President Product Development
Bruce W. Husel
    44     Vice President Quality Systems and Regulatory Affairs
Steven N. Wolff, M.D.
    53     Vice President Medical Research
Alan M. Wright
    57     Senior Vice President Administrative and Financial Operations

      R. Douglas Armstrong, Ph.D. joined Aastrom in June 1991 as a Director, and as its President and Chief Executive Officer. In 1999, Dr. Armstrong was elected as Chairman of Aastrom’s Board of Directors. From 1987 to 1991, Dr. Armstrong served in different capacities, including Executive Vice President and Trustee of the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation (LJCRF), now named the Burnham Institute, a 250-employee scientific research institute located in San Diego, California. Dr. Armstrong received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from the University of Richmond, and a Doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia. In addition, he has held faculty and staff positions at Yale University, University of California, San Francisco, LJCRF and University of Michigan.

      Michael S. Durski joined Aastrom in February 2002 as Vice President Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Durski also serves as Aastrom’s Secretary and Treasurer. Prior to joining Aastrom, Mr. Durski held the positions of Chairman, CEO and CFO of ZeptoMetrix Corporation, a biotechnology manufacturer of kits and reagents engaged in the study, diagnosis and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, which he co-founded. Prior to that time Mr. Durski held various executive financial positions at Cellular Products, Inc., Treibacher Schleifmittel, Recra Environmental and Comptek Research, Inc. Mr. Durski received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the State University College at Buffalo, and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Canisius College.

      Brian S. Hampson joined Aastrom in July 1993 as Director, Product Engineering and became Vice President Product Development in June 2000. He has been a principal leader in the development and engineering of the AastromReplicellTM System. Previously, Mr. Hampson served as Manager, In Vitro Systems at Charles River Laboratories and held other positions after joining that company in January 1986. While at Charles River, he managed a number of programs to develop and commercialize novel bioreactor systems to support large-scale cell culture and biomolecule production. Prior to that, Mr. Hampson held several engineering positions at Corning Incorporated from September 1979 to January 1986, including assignments with KC Biological, a wholly owned subsidiary of Corning at the time. Mr. Hampson received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

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      Bruce W. Husel joined Aastrom in November 1997 as Vice President Quality Systems and Regulatory Affairs. From May 1994 to September 1997, Mr. Husel served as Director of Quality Assurance for Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, where he led efforts to achieve EN 46001 registration and prepared for CE Marking. From June 1992 to May 1994, Mr. Husel was Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for Baxter Anesthesia Division (formerly known as Bard MedSystems). Prior to that, he served as Quality Manager of McGaw, Inc. Mr. Husel received a Bachelor of Business degree in Electrical Engineering from Rice University, a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas.

      Steven N. Wolff, M.D. joined Aastrom in April 2001 as Vice President Medical Research. Prior to joining Aastrom, Dr. Wolff held various distinguished positions at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, most recently as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/ Oncology, and as Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program. In addition, Dr. Wolff has served on the National Marrow Donor Program Council from 1995 to 1997, as the Council’s President in 1997, and as the Chairman of the Finance Committee. Currently, Dr. Wolff participates as a Board Member for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, having served as Board President in 1998. Dr. Wolff holds an M.D. from the University of Illinois, with postgraduate training at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine, and holds an undergraduate degree from Queens College.

      Alan M. Wright joined Aastrom in September 2000 as a member of the Board of Directors. In August 2002, Mr. Wright resigned from Aastrom’s Board of Directors and joined the Company’s management team as Senior Vice President Administrative and Financial Operations. From 1991 to 2002, Mr. Wright held several executive positions at CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy, most recently as its Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, where he was responsible for raising $17 billion in capital during his tenure. Prior to joining CMS Energy, Mr. Wright held various financial management positions at Entergy Corporation, including Vice President of Finance. He served on the Finance Committee and the Finance and Regulation Executive Advisory Committee of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the Conference Board Council of CFOs, the Committee on Corporate Reporting of the Financial Executives Institute, and on Jenkins’ Special Committee to the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Mr. Wright earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Cornell University under a General Motors national scholarship. He has also completed Stanford University’s Executive Program, the EEI Executive Leadership Program and post-graduate studies in Accounting at the University of West Florida.

Item 2.     Properties

      We lease approximately 23,000 square feet of office and research and development space in Ann Arbor, Michigan under a lease agreement expiring in December 2004. We believe that our facilities are adequate for our current needs. Additional facilities may be required to support expansion for research and development abilities or to assume manufacturing operations that are currently fulfilled through contract manufacturing relationships.

Item 3.     Legal Proceedings

      We are not currently party to any material legal proceedings, although from time to time we may become involved in disputes in connection with the operation of our business.

Item 4.     Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

      None

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PART II

Item 5.     Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Shareholder Matters

      Beginning on February 4, 1997 our common stock was quoted on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “ASTM”. Since June 11, 2002 , our common stock has been quoted on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market under the symbol “ASTM”. The following table sets forth the high and low closing prices per share of common stock as reported on the applicable Nasdaq Market:

                   
Price Range of
Common Stock

High Low


Year ended June 30, 2001:
               
 
1st Quarter
  $ 4.31     $ 1.53  
 
2nd Quarter
    2.78       .81  
 
3rd Quarter
    1.59       .78  
 
4th Quarter
    2.34       .75  
Year ended June 30, 2002:
               
 
1st Quarter
    2.40       .93  
 
2nd Quarter
    1.21       .94  
 
3rd Quarter
    1.05       .72  
 
4th Quarter
    .71       .36  

      As of August 30, 2002, there were approximately 440 holders of record of the common stock. We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock and we do not anticipate paying such cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We currently anticipate that we will retain all future earnings, if any, for use in the development of our business.

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Table of Contents

Item 6.     Selected Financial Data

      The statement of operations data for the years ended June 30, 2000, 2001 and 2002 and for the period from March 24, 1989 (Inception) to June 30, 2002 and the balance sheet data at June 30, 2001 and 2002, are derived from, and are qualified by reference to, the audited consolidated financial statements included in this report on Form 10-K and should be read in conjunction with those financial statements and notes thereto. The statement of operations data for the years ended June 30, 1998 and 1999, and the balance sheet data at June 30, 1998, 1999 and 2000, are derived from audited consolidated financial statements not included herein. The data set forth below are qualified by reference to, and should be read in conjunction with, the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”