UPDATE: MLV & Co. Downgrades Aastrom Biosciences to Hold on Continued Disappointing Enrollment

In a report published Wednesday, MLV & Co. analyst downgraded the rating on Aastrom Biosciences (NASDAQ: ASTM) from Buy to Hold, and lowered the price target from $5.50 to $1.50.

In the report, “At the forefront of investors minds has been Aastrom's enrollment progress in their Phase III trial of ixmyelocel-T, conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA), to test whether the autologous cell therapy can prevent amputation in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) and severe peripheral artery disease (PAD). As of March 2013, only 40 patients were enrolled, meaning that only 14 additional patients were enrolled since 3Q:12. The enrollment goal is 594 patients. While the company guides to changes being implemented to augment future enrollment, we are no longer projecting ixmyelocel-T launching in the CLI market by 2017.”

Aastrom Biosciences closed on Tuesday at $1.20.