In a bid to bolster its cell therapy pipeline, Novartis has entered into a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Mesoblast to develop, commercialise and manufacture remestemcel-L for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome, including that associated with COVID-19. The deal, which is worth up to US$1.3 B, comes less than two months after Mesoblast was surprisingly issued a CRL from the FDA for the treatment of paediatric steroid-resistant graft versus host disease.