Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. Receives Second Approval for Life-Saving Stem Cell Drug; Prochymal Granted Marketing Consent by New Zealand

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIR), announced today it has received consent from New Zealand to market its first-in-class stem cell therapy Prochymal® (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) in children. With this decision New Zealand joins Canada, which last month became the world’s first internationally recognized regulatory authority to grant approval to a stem cell drug. Prochymal is also the first therapy approved for GvHD - a devastating complication of bone marrow transplantation that kills up to 80 percent of children affected, many within just weeks of diagnosis.