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TerminatedNCT03545607MASTERS-2Updated Aug 11, 2026

MultiStem® Administration for Stroke Treatment and Enhanced Recovery Study

A Phase 3 interventional study of MultiStem and Placebo in Ischemic Stroke, sponsored by Healios K.K.. Terminated at 26 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-11.

Sponsored by Healios K.K. · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Sponsor's decision
Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
206
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

A Phase 3 study to examine the safety and effectiveness of the allogeneic, adult stem cell investigational product, MultiStem, in adults who have suffered an acute ischemic stroke in the previous 18-36 hours.

02

Conditions studied

  • Ischemic Stroke

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Keywords

  • ischemic stroke
  • adult stem cells
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

Primary Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female subjects ≥18 years of age
  • Clinical diagnosis of ischemic stroke involving cerebral cortex
  • Occurrence of a moderate to moderately severe stroke with a persistent neurologic deficit documented by a NIHSS score of 8 to 20 (inclusive) that does not change by ≥4 points during the initial screening period
  • A mRS score of 0 or 1 prior to the onset of symptoms of the current stroke

Primary Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of a lacunar or a brainstem infarct
  • Comatose state
  • Brain hemorrhage
  • Major neurological event such as stroke or clinically significant head trauma within 6 months of enrollment into the study
04

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
206 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    MultiStem

    1.2 billion cells

    Biological: MultiStem

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Biological: Placebo

Interventions

  • BiologicalMultiStem

    single intravenous infusion 18-36 hours after stroke

  • BiologicalPlacebo

    single intravenous infusion 18-36 hours after stroke

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. assessment of disability by examining the distribution of modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores [scale range = 0 to 6] evaluated by shift analysis

    Time frame: 90 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. proportion of subjects achieving an excellent functional outcome defined by all of the following criteria:

    mRS score = 0 to 1 \[scale range 0 to 6\]; and NIHSS score = 0 to 1 \[scale range 0 to 42\]; and Barthel Index score = greater than or equal to 95 \[scale range 0 to 100\]

    Time frame: 365 days

  2. proportion of subjects achieving an excellent functional outcome defined by all of the following criteria:

    mRS score = 0 to 1 \[scale range 0 to 6\]; and NIHSS score = 0 to 1 \[scale range 0 to 42\]; and Barthel Index score = greater than or equal to 95 \[scale range 0 to 100\]

    Time frame: 90 days

  3. proportion of subjects with a mRS score of less than or equal to 2 [scale range 0 to 6] demonstrating the ability to function independently

    Time frame: 90 days

06

Study locations

26 sites
  • Athersys Investigational Site 128
    Phoenix, Arizona 85013, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 122
    Palo Alto, California 94304, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 127
    Sacramento, California 95817, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 129
    Clearwater, Florida 33756, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 108
    Miami, Florida 33136, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 103
    Augusta, Georgia 30912, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 121
    Chicago, Illinois 60201, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 119
    Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 124
    Wichita, Kansas 67214, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 113
    Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 125
    Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 111
    Jackson, Mississippi 39216, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 109
    Akron, Ohio 44304, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 104
    Cleveland, Ohio 44195, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 130
    Toledo, Ohio 43606, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 102
    Portland, Oregon 97239, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 107
    Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 106
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 118
    Columbia, South Carolina 29203, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 115
    Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 101
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 105
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 110
    Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
  • Athersys Investigational Site 603
    Taichung, 40402, Taiwan
  • Athersys Investigational Site 601
    Taipei, 10002, Taiwan
  • Athersys Investigational Site 602
    Taoyuan City, 33305, Taiwan
07

References and documents

Publications

  • Hess DC, Wechsler LR, Clark WM, Savitz SI, Ford GA, Chiu D, Yavagal DR, Uchino K, Liebeskind DS, Auchus AP, Sen S, Sila CA, Vest JD, Mays RW. Safety and efficacy of multipotent adult progenitor cells in acute ischaemic stroke (MASTERS): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial. Lancet Neurol. 2017 May;16(5):360-368. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30046-7. Epub 2017 Mar 17. PubMed 28320635 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03545607
Lead sponsor
Healios K.K.
Collaborators
Medpace, Inc.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 4, 2018
Start date
Jul 28, 2018
Primary completion
Oct 1, 2024
Completion
Oct 1, 2024
Last update
Aug 11, 2026

Study contacts

Robert W Mays, PhD
study director · Healios K.K.

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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