Aastrom surges after acquiring Sanofi's cell therapies

A little more than a year after reorganizing the company and slashing staff in the wake of a Phase III failure, Ann Arbor, MI-based Aastrom Biosciences ($ASTM) has acquired Sanofi's ($SNY) cell therapy and regenerative medicine business for the low, low purchase price of $6.5 million--$4 million payable in cash and $2.5 million in a promissory note. Its stock shot up 30% on the news. The deal nets Aastrom rights to three autologous cell therapy products on the market: Carticel, for articular cartilage defects, Epicel, a skin replacement, and MACI, an ACI product currently marketed in the European Union. Revenues of those three products were $44 million in 2013, says Aastrom. Release