Document:

Exhibit 10.43

EXHIBIT 10.43

CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT HAS BEEN REQUESTED FOR THE REDACTED PORTIONS OF THIS EXHIBIT, AND SUCH
CONFIDENTIAL PORTIONS HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND FILED SEPARATELY WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION.

STAND-BY LICENSE AGREEMENT

STAND-BY LICENSE AGREEMENT (this “Stand-by License Agreement”) dated December 18, 2009 by and
among REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, a constitutional educational corporation under the
laws of the state of Minnesota, having an office at 1000 Westgate Drive, Suite 160, St. Paul,
Minnesota 55114, (“University”); ABT HOLDING COMPANY, a Delaware corporation formerly called
Athersys, Inc. and which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Athersys, Inc., having an office at
3201 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, (“ABT”); and PFIZER INC., a Delaware corporation
having an office at 235 East 42nd Street, New York, New York 10017 (“Pfizer”).

WHEREAS, MCL LLC and the University entered into an Exclusive License Agreement dated May 17,
2002 (the “License Agreement”) and an Ownership Agreement dated May 17, 2002 (“Ownership
Agreement”);

WHEREAS, MCL LLC was merged into ReGenesys LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABT, on November
4, 2003 and as a result thereof, ReGenesys LLC became the owner of the “Company Technology” and
“Company Patents” and the licensee of the “University Technology” and “University Patents”, each as
defined in the License Agreement and the Ownership Agreement;

WHEREAS, by a Technology and Contract Assignment and Assumption Agreement of May 5, 2006
ReGenesys assigned to Athersys, Inc. (now ABT) all rights, title and interest granted to MCL LLC /
ReGenesys LLC by the Ownership Agreement and licensed to it by the License Agreement;

WHEREAS, in connection with its activities to develop and commercialize the Technology (as
defined in the License Agreement and the Ownership Agreement) in the Pfizer Field (as defined
below), ABT proposes to sublicense its rights under the License Agreement, and license its rights
under the Ownership Agreement, to Pfizer in the Pfizer Field under a Collaboration and License
Agreement to be entered by and among Pfizer, ABT and Athersys, Inc. on or around December 18, 2009
(“Pfizer-Athersys Collaboration Agreement”) and Pfizer has asked the University to provide Pfizer
with certain assurances regarding Pfizer’s rights under certain circumstances.

WHEREAS, the University has agreed to provide such assurances to the extent set forth below.

NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the foregoing and other good and valuable consideration, the
receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties, agreeing to be legally bound,
agree as follows.

 

 

 

1. Definitions.

Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the
Pfizer- Athersys Collaboration License Agreement, unless otherwise indicated. For the purposes of
this Stand-by License Agreement:

1.1 “Affiliate” means any company which (directly or indirectly) controls, is controlled by or is
under common control with, that party.

1.2 “Effective Time” means the effective date on or by which the License Agreement is terminated by
the University for any reason including for breach thereof by ABT, to the extent ABT’s breach is
not caused by Pfizer’s breach of the Pfizer-Athersys Collaboration Agreement.

1.3 “Pfizer Field” means the Pilot Indication and, if applicable, the Major Indication, each as may
be revised from time to time pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Pfizer-Athersys
Collaboration Agreement.

2. Acknowledgement of rights under License Agreement. The University acknowledges and confirms to
the best of its knowledge:

(a) the accuracy of the recitals above in relation to the transfer of rights in the
Technology under the License Agreement and the Ownership Agreement and fully acknowledges and
confirms that, as between the University and ABT, ABT is the sole and rightful licensee under the
License Agreement and holds all rights, title and interest granted to it in accordance with the
License Agreement. The University further acknowledges and confirms that as far as it is aware any
and all requirements specified, for the transfer and/or assignment of all rights, interest and
title granted under the License Agreement from the original licensee (MCL, LLC) to ABT, have been
observed, and to the extent that any such requirement(s) has not been observed, the University
hereby waives all and every such requirement;

(b) that the federal government has made no claims to any rights in the Technology and that
it is not aware of such federal rights or claims to such rights for the Athersys Patent Rights to
which the University has an ownership interest, listed in Schedule 1.83 of the Athersys-Pfizer
Collaboration Agreement as of the Effective Date of that Agreement (excepting PCT/US09/65128 for
which the existence and extent of federal rights has not yet been evaluated). The University
further acknowledges and confirms to the best of its knowledge and subject to article 3.2 of the
License Agreement, the University owns or has acquired the exclusive rights (including all patents
and other intellectual property) to the Technology which is the subject of the License Agreement;

(c) that ABT has met the obligations imposed under article 4.1(a), (b), (c) and (e) of the
License Agreement. To the extent that any such obligations have not been met by ABT in regard to
the Field, the University hereby waives all and every such obligation;

 

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(d) that all Institutions which are a party to a Material Transfer Agreement (as provided at
Exhibit C to the License Agreement) are listed in Schedule 1 of this Stand-by License
Agreement and that the University has not been notified of, and is not otherwise aware of, any
Biological Material Inventions in accordance with a Material Transfer Agreement (as provided at
Exhibit C to the License Agreement), except those set out in Schedule 2;

(e) as of the date of this Stand-by License Agreement, the License Agreement remains in full
force and effect and the University has not given any notice to ABT of any default by ABT or any of
its Affiliates under the License Agreement, or to terminate the License Agreement; and

(f) the Pfizer-Athersys Collaboration Agreement fulfills all of the requirements for
sublicenses as set forth in Section 3.1(c) of the License Agreement).

3. Amendments to the License Agreement.

(a) With effect from the date of this Stand-by License Agreement, the License Agreement shall
be deemed amended as follows:

(i) article 1.1: shall read “‘University Technology’ shall mean that part of the Technology
that is owned by the University pursuant to that certain Ownership Agreement dated as of the
Effective Date, and including any Biological Material Inventions to the extent that the
University has acquired any such rights under article 3.3 or will acquire any such rights under
article 3.4 (if a license agreement is executed pursuant to such article) of a Material Transfer
Agreement.”

(ii) sub-article 4.1(d) shall be deleted in its entirety;

(iii) article 4.2 (second sentence): shall read “The Company shall, and it shall require and
cause any assignees or Sublicensees to, substantially manufacture Licensed Products, or
any portion thereof that embodies or is produced through use of an invention which is subject to
the rights of the Federal Government of the United States of America, in the United States if
the Licensed Product or portion thereof that embodies or is produced through use of an
invention which is subject to the rights of the Federal Government of the United States of
America, is to be sold in the United States unless the Company is granted a waiver of these
restrictions by the United States of America”.

(iv) article 3.4 (addition after article 3.3): shall read “In respect of a Biological
Material Invention, the University shall within ten (10) days, following disclosure by an
Institution, determine whether or not it will exercise its Option as defined under the Material
Transfer Agreement. If it decides not to exercise the Option it shall notify the Company and at
the request of the Company will assign the Option free of charge before expiry of the Option
Period”

(v) article 3.5 (addition after article 3.4): shall read “If neither the University nor
the Company decide to exercise the Option in respect of a Biological Material Invention and the
University, having been notified by the Institution of its intention to grant a third party
license, will within ten (10) days notify the Company if it elects not to exercise its right of
refusal and will immediately assign the right free of charge to the Company within the notice
period.”

 

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(vi) article 5.1.6 (addition after article 5.1.5): shall read ”Minimum Royalties.
Commencing in 2010, the Company shall pay to the University annual minimum royalties of
[$*] per calendar year payable upon invoice from the University.”

(b) University and ABT agree not to amend the License Agreement in any way that would
materially affect the rights that would be granted to Pfizer if the Pfizer License Agreement (as
defined below) were entered as of the effective date of the Pfizer-Athersys Collaboration
Agreement.

4. Grant of Stand-By License to Pfizer.

(a) University grants to Pfizer and Pfizer’s Affiliates all rights and licenses granted by the
University under the License Agreement effective as of the Effective Time, on the same terms and
conditions such rights and licenses were granted under the License Agreement immediately prior to
the Effective Time without any need for further action by Pfizer, the University or ABT (or by any
Affiliate of ABT) (such grant by the University to Pfizer, the “Pfizer License Agreement”),
provided however that the “Field of Use” in the Pfizer License Agreement will be limited to the
Pfizer Field.

(b) Following the Effective Time, (i) notwithstanding the scope of the Pfizer Field, Pfizer’s
payment obligations under the Pfizer License Agreement shall be the same as what ABT’s payment
obligations would have been under the License Agreement if the License Agreement had remained in
effect; and (ii) Pfizer’s activities under the Pfizer License Agreement shall be the same as those
of ABT under the License Agreement, accepting that Pfizer only has rights to develop and
commercialize Licensed Products in the Field.

(c) University agrees that if the University assigns its rights under the License Agreement or
any of the intellectual property thereunder to a third party assignee, the University shall cause
such assignee to be bound in writing by the terms of this Stand-by License Agreement that are
applicable to the University.

5. Termination.

(a) This Stand-By License Agreement shall terminate upon written notice by ABT, which notice
can be provided upon termination of the Pfizer-Athersys Collaboration Agreement by Athersys
pursuant to Section 16.1 (a), (e) and (f) of Pfizer-Athersys Collaboration Agreement or by Pfizer
pursuant to Section 16.1(d) of Pfizer-Athersys Collaboration Agreement; or

(b) The provisions of Section 3(a) shall survive termination or expiration of this Stand-by
License Agreement.

 

	 	 	 
	*	 	Confidential treatment has been requested for the
redacted portions of this exhibit, and such confidential portions have been
omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

4

 

6. U.S. Bankruptcy Code. All rights and licenses granted under or pursuant to this Stand-by
License Agreement by ABT are, and shall otherwise be deemed to be, for purposes of Section
365(n) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, licenses of rights to “intellectual property” as defined under
Section 101 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The parties agree that Pfizer, as licensee of
intellectual property under this Stand-by License Agreement or the Pfizer License Agreement, shall
retain and may fully exercise all of its rights and elections under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The
parties further agree that in the event of a rejection of this Stand-by License Agreement or the
Pfizer License Agreement by ABT in any bankruptcy proceeding by or against ABT under the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code, (i) Pfizer shall be entitled to receive from the University, to the extent in its
possession or control, or otherwise from ABT a complete duplicate of (or complete access to, as
appropriate) any such intellectual property and all embodiments of such intellectual property,
which, if not already in Pfizer’s possession, shall be promptly delivered to it upon Pfizer’s
written request therefore, and (ii) ABT shall not interfere with Pfizer’s rights to intellectual
property and all embodiments of intellectual property, and ABT shall assist and not interfere with
Pfizer in obtaining intellectual property and all embodiments of intellectual property from the
University. The term “embodiments” of intellectual property includes all tangible, intangible,
electronic or other embodiments of rights and licenses hereunder, including all compounds and
products embodying intellectual property, Licensed Products, filings with Regulatory Authorities
and related rights and technology.

7. Notices. Any notice required or permitted hereunder shall be sent by registered or certified
mail or by an equivalent delivery service capable of verification to the relevant addresses stated
below, or by telefacsimile to the relevant fax numbers below, or to such other addresses or fax
numbers that the relevant receiving parties may provide in the future by notice in writing in
accordance with this Section 7.

	 	 	 
	If to University:

	 	Office for Technology Commercialization
	 

	 	Regents of the University of Minnesota
	 

	 	1000 Westgate Drive, Suite 160
	 
	 	 
	 

	 	St. Paul, MN 55114
	 

	 	Facsimile No. (612) 624 6554
	 
	 	 
	If to ABT:

	 	ABT
	 

	 	3201 Carnegie Avenue
	 

	 	Cleveland, Ohio 44115
	 

	 	Attn: President
	 

	 	Fax: 216-361-9495
	 
	 	 
	If to Pfizer:

	 	Pfizer Inc.
	 

	 	235 East 42nd Street
	 

	 	New York, New York 10017-5755
	 

	 	Attn: [*]
	 

	 	Fax: [*]

 

	 	 	 
	*	 	Confidential treatment has been requested for the
redacted portions of this exhibit, and such confidential portions have been
omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

5

 

8. Miscellaneous.

(a) This Agreement may not be assigned without the prior written consent of each party hereto
except assignment by Pfizer to any of its Affiliates or by any party in connection with the
successors of the entire business and assets of the respective party hereto. This Agreement shall
not constitute any party as the joint venturer, legal representative or agent of any other party
hereto and no party hereto shall have the right or authority to assume or create any obligation on
the part of any among the parties with respect to their collective subject matter.

(b) The parties agree that if any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement were not
performed in accordance with the terms and conditions herein and, accordingly, each party may be
entitled to obtain an injunction to prevent any breaches and to obtain specific performance of the
terms and conditions herein in addition to any other remedy available at law or in equity.

(c) This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State
of Minnesota, without giving effect to its conflicts of law principles. The parties shall bring
any action arising under this Agreement in Hennepin County District Court.

(d) This Agreement and the License Agreement together supersede all prior agreements or
understanding between the parties with respect to such subject matter. In the event of any
conflict between this Agreement and the License Agreement, the terms and conditions of this
Agreement shall prevail.

(e) The University is not liable for any indirect, consequential, special damages of any
kind, including lost profits or lost business opportunities for any claim or cause of action
arising out of this Stand-By License Agreement.

(f) This Agreement may be executed in any two or more counterparts, each of which, when
executed, shall be deemed to be an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the
same document.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their duly
authorized representatives.

REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

	 	 	 	 	 
	/s/ James D. Hines	 	 
	 	 	 
	By:

	 	James D. Hines	 	 
	Title:

	 	Contracts Manager, Office

for Technology Commercialization	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 
	ABT HOLDING COMPANY	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 
	/s/ William O. Lehmann	 	 
	 	 	 
	By:

	 	William O. Lehmann	 	 
	Title:

	 	President	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 
	PFIZER INC.	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 
	/s/ Polly A. Murphy	 	 
	 	 	 
	By:

	 	Polly A. Murphy	 	 
	Title:

	 	Vice President	 	 
	 

	 	Worldwide Business Development	 	 

 

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SCHEDULE 1

LIST OF MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENTS

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	#	 	
Institution / Investigator	 	Scope	 	Effective Date	 	Status	 	Standard Template
	 

	 	[*]
	 	[*]
	 	[*]
	 	[*]
	 	[*]

 

	 	 	 
	*	 	Confidential treatment has been requested for the
redacted portions of this exhibit, and such confidential portions have been
omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

 

SCHEDULE 2

NOTIFIED BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL INVENTIONS

[*]

 

	 	 	 
	*	 	Confidential treatment has been requested for the
redacted portions of this exhibit, and such confidential portions have been
omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Exhibit 10.45

EXHIBIT 10.45

ATHERSYS, INC.

WAIVER AND AMENDMENT NO. 4

TO

AMENDED AND RESTATED REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

This Waiver and Amendment No. 4, dated as of March 8, 2010 (this “Amendment”), to the Amended
and Restated Registration Rights Agreement (the “Agreement”) dated as of April 28, 2000, as
amended, is by and among ABT Holding Company, a Delaware corporation formerly known as Athersys,
Inc. (the “Company”), Athersys, Inc., a Delaware corporation formerly known as BTHC VI, Inc. and
the parent of the Company (“Parent”), and the holders of shares of common stock of Parent who
previously held shares of capital stock of the Company and from time to time have executed
counterparts to the Agreement (collectively, the “Existing Stockholders”).

RECITALS:

WHEREAS, the Company effected a transaction pursuant to which a wholly owned subsidiary of
Parent merged with and into the Company, with the Company becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of
Parent (the “Merger”);

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 13(e) of the Agreement, the covenants and the agreements of the
Company became the covenants and agreements of Parent in connection with the Merger;

WHEREAS, Parent has filed a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act of
1933 (the “Securities Act”) registering the offer and sale by Parent of its equity securities,
including its common stock, on a continuous or delayed basis pursuant to Rule 415 promulgated under
the Securities Act (the “Shelf Registration Statement”); and

WHEREAS, under Section 13(d) of the Agreement, the Agreement may be amended and the Existing
Stockholders may waive any rights granted to them under the Agreement.

AGREEMENTS:

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:

1. Effective as of the date of this Amendment, the Existing Stockholders hereby waive any
rights to Piggyback Registration granted under Section 2 of the Agreement to Biotech, the Investors
and the Stockholders in connection with the filing of the Shelf Registration Statement by Parent,
including, without limitation, any right to receive written notice pursuant to Section 2(a) of the
Registration Statement.

 

 

2. Effective as of the date of this Amendment, Section 2(c) of Agreement is hereby amended and
restated in its entirety as follows:

“(c) Expiration of Piggyback Registration Rights. The “piggyback” registration
rights granted under this Section 2 shall expire on January 1, 2010.”

3. All covenants and agreements in this Amendment by or on behalf of any of the parties hereto
will bind and inure to the benefit of the respective successors and assigns of the parties hereto
whether so expressed or not.

4. This Amendment may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which constitutes an
original, and all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same Amendment. It is
understood that all parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is
delivered by facsimile transmission or by email delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such
signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf
such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or “.pdf” signature
page were an original thereof. The execution of this Amendment by each of the Existing
Stockholders shall constitute the written consent of such Existing Stockholder to the amendment of
the Agreement by operation of this Amendment.

5. This Amendment shall be governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without reference to
its conflict of law principles.

6. Where necessary or appropriate to the meaning hereof, the singular, plural, masculine,
feminine and neuter shall be deemed to include each other.

7. Whenever possible, each provision of this Amendment shall be interpreted in such manner as
to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Amendment is held to
be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective only to the
extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of this Amendment.

8. This Amendment and the Agreement constitute the entire agreement of the parties and there
are no other agreements, written or oral, between the parties related to the subject matter of this
Amendment and the Agreement.

9. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein have the meanings set forth in the
Agreement.

[SIGNATURES BEGIN ON FOLLOWING PAGE]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Waiver and Amendment No. 4 to the Amended
and Restated Registration Rights Agreement of Athersys, Inc. as of the day and year first above
written.

	 	 	 	 	 
	 	ATHERSYS, INC.

 	 
	 	By:  	/s/ Gil Van Bokkelen
 	 
	 	 	Name:  	Gil Van Bokkelen  	 
	 	 	Title:  	Chief Executive Officer 	 
	 	

ABT HOLDING COMPANY

 	 
	 	By:  	/s/ William Lehmann
 	 
	 	 	Name:  	William Lehmann  	 
	 	 	Title:  	President 	 

[STOCKHOLDER SIGNATURES BEGIN ON FOLLOWING PAGE]

*Note: conformed signatures of the stockholders intentionally omitted from this filing

 

-3-

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