This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2022) |
Company type | Public |
---|---|
SGX: P8A | |
Industry | Healthcare Services |
Founded | 2 May 2001 |
Headquarters | Singapore |
Area served | China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, The Philippines, Malaysia (as Stemlife) and Thailand (under other brands through investment stake) |
Key people |
|
Products | Cord blood banking, cord lining banking, metabolic screening and other products catering to the mother & child segment |
Revenue | S$61.6 million (FY2019) |
Number of employees | 937 (FY2017) |
Website | www.cordlife.com |
Incorporated in May 2001, [1] Cordlife Group Limited ("Cordlife", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"), is a consumer health company and one of the leading providers of cord blood and cord lining banking services in Asia. Cordlife has been listed on the mainboard of SGX since March 2012.
The Group owns the largest network of cord blood banks in Asia with full stem cell processing and storage facilities in six key markets namely Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Beyond cord blood and cord lining banking, Cordlife offers a comprehensive suite of diagnostics services, particularly for the mother and child segment, including urine-based newborn metabolic screening, non-invasive prenatal testing, paediatric vision screening and family genetic screening services.
In January 2018, Cordlife acquired HealthBaby Biotech (Hong Kong) Co., Limited, the largest private cord blood bank in Hong Kong. Through its majority-owned subsidiary, Stemlife Berhad in Malaysia, Cordlife controls an indirect stake in Thailand's largest private cord blood bank, Thai Stemlife. Cordlife is also the first Singapore private cord blood bank to provide cord blood and cord lining banking services in Myanmar and Vietnam.
The Group's stem cell processing and storage facilities in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia are accredited by AABB [2] (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks).
In 2019, the Group has successfully performed 14 cord blood and 1 cord tissue releases to support medical treatment carried out at 6 healthcare institutions in 6 countries.
In November 2023, the Ministry of Health of Singapore revealed that Cordlife Group had exposed cryopreserved cord blood units at suboptimal temperatures, damaging the cord blood units belonging to at least 2,150 clients and rendering them unsuitable for stem cell transplant purposes. [3]
Cord blood banking [34] refers to the collection at birth, processing, testing, cryopreservation and storage of stem cells from the umbilical cord blood. Cord blood, also called "placental blood", is blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following the birth of a baby and after the umbilical cord is cut. During pregnancy, the umbilical cord functions as a lifeline between mother and child. After a baby's delivery, the cord blood present in the umbilical cord could offer hope for the child or members of the family. Cord blood is a rich source of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are primarily responsible for replenishing blood and regenerating the immune system.
Cordlife's cord blood banking services are available in the following countries: Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Cord lining banking [35] refers to the collection, processing, testing, cryopreservation and storage of the lining from an umbilical cord. After the baby is delivered, the umbilical cord is cut and normally discarded with the placenta as medical waste until researchers became aware of its medical potential.
Cord lining contains both Epithelial (EpSCs) and Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). EpSCs form the soft tissues that connect, support, or surround other structures and organs of the body including cornea, skin, and liver. MSCs are the building blocks of structural tissues of our body such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fibrous tissues and fat.
Cordlife's cord lining banking services are available in the following countries: Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Newborn metabolic screening [36] screens for inborn errors of metabolism from urine samples that can impact the health of newborns. Metabolic disorders are usually not apparent at the time of birth. If left undiagnosed and untreated, the baby can suffer from neurological impairment and physical deformities.
Cordlife has already launched this newborn metabolic screening test (Metascreen) in the following countries: Hong Kong (through HealthBaby and Cordlife Hong Kong), Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Non-invasive prenatal testing ("NIPT") is a relatively new and highly accurate prenatal screening test that analyses foetal DNA in the mother's blood for potential foetal chromosomal abnormalities, including Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome and Patau syndrome. The test can be performed as early as 10th week of gestation through a simple and safe blood draw. NIPT has an accuracy rate of over 99%, much higher than conventional maternal marker-based prenatal tests. [37] Through strategic partnerships with their third-party service providers, Cordlife is offering this services in Singapore, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
A non-invasive screening for chromosomal abnormalities and gene variants connected to more than 120 genetic disorders in babies using cord blood.
Cordlife offers paediatric vision screening marketed under the brand Eyescreen, a marketing trademark of the Group's wholly owned subsidiary Cordlife Technologies Pte Ltd. Eyescreen is a safe and non-invasive paediatric vision screening service for children aged between six months and six years old. The test detects up to 11 eye conditions such as strabismus (crossed eyes) and amblyopia (lazy eye) using a device with photoscreening technology. Available in Singapore.
Cordlife Singapore [38] is the country's first private cord blood bank and the corporate headquarters of the Group. Situated at A’Posh Bizhub, Yishun, Cordlife Singapore's fully owned 23,000 square feet processing and storage facility has a storage capacity of up to 650,000 [38] cord blood units. Since 2005, Cordlife Singapore has been accredited by AABB. [2] To date, Cordlife Singapore has successfully released 14 cord blood units to its clients. [39] In May 2013, Cordlife Technologies Pte Ltd (“CTPL”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, launched cord lining banking service in Singapore. [26] In December 2015, their facility was successfully accredited by FACT-Netcord, a gold standard for cord blood banking. This places them amongst only six cord blood banks in the world to achieve accreditation from both FACT-Netcord and AABB. [40]
Launched in 2005, Cordlife (Hong Kong) Limited (“Cordlife Hong Kong”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group. Cordlife Hong Kong moved into a new facility at the Hong Kong Science Park in 2010. [33] The AABB & ISO certified facility has a storage capacity for 50,000 [41] cord blood and umbilical cord units. In January 2011, [41] Cordlife Hong Kong became the only private cord blood bank in Hong Kong to have released a cord blood unit for autologous (with one's own stem cells) transplantation to aid the treatment of neuroblastoma. In March 2011, [33] Cordlife Hong Kong introduced CellOptima, a patented cord lining stem cell technology to extract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and Epithelial Stem Cells (EpSCs) from umbilical cord.. In 2014, [42] Cordlife Hong Kong launched Metascreen, a newborn metabolic screening service, in Hong Kong. In January 2018, Cordlife acquired HealthBaby Biotech (Hong Kong) Co., Limited, the largest private cord blood bank in Hong Kong. HealthBaby is accredited by AABB, CAP, FACT and certified by HOKLAS.
Cordlife Indonesia has been providing cord blood processing and cryopreservation service to families in Indonesia since 2003. [43] In October 2007, [44] Cordlife Indonesia opened the first and only DEPKES licensed private cord blood banking facility in Indonesia. Located in Jakarta, Cordlife Indonesia's ISO-certified processing and storage facility has a storage capacity of 30,000 [45] cord blood units. Cordlife Indonesia also has branch offices in Medan, Surabaya and Bandung. PT.Cordlife Persada has become the first in Indonesia to join the ranks of world-class cord blood banks as an AABB accredited facility. With Cordlife Indonesia's new AABB accreditation status, Cordlife clients in Indonesia can now opt to have their transplant or infusion done in countries such as United States and Singapore, where only cord blood units (if imported) handled by AABB or its equivalent accredited facilities, will be permitted or preferred for use.
Cordlife Group owns a majority interest (99.9% [46] ) in Cordlife Sciences (India) Pvt. Ltd., (“Cordlife India”) through its wholly owned subsidiary CS Cell Technologies Pte. Ltd. Established in Kolkata, Cordlife India's cord blood facility has a storage capacity of up to 150,000 [47] cord blood units. In July 2013, [2] Cordlife India attained accreditation from AABB, an international, not-for-profit association representing individuals and institutions involved in the field of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. The facility is also certified by ISO 9001:2008. [27] In 2011, [48] Cordlife India successfully released a stem cell unit for the first ever mixed stem cell transplant in India. Cordlife India introduced an advanced non-invasive newborn metabolic screening test called Metascreen in India in October 2013. [24]
Cordlife Group owns a 99.99% [28] interest in Cordlife Medical Phils., Inc. (“Cordlife Philippines”), through its wholly owned subsidiary CS Cell Technologies Pte. Ltd. Registered with the Department of Health, Cordlife Philippines' ISO-certified and AABB [2] -accredited facility cord blood processing and cryopreservation facility was officially launched in February 2010 with a storage capacity for 20,000 [49] cord blood units. In August 2013, [50] Cordlife Philippines officially launched its newest service, umbilical cord lining banking.
Established in 2001 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest cord blood banking operator StemLife, is the first stem cell banking and therapeutics company in Malaysia. Stemlife became a majority-owned subsidiary of Cordlife Group Limited in December 2015. StemLife operates its own 24-hour processing, testing, and cryopreservation facility in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They have successfully released 16 cord blood units for transplantation and infusion.
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiologically and genetically part of the fetus and normally contains two arteries and one vein, buried within Wharton's jelly. The umbilical vein supplies the fetus with oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood from the placenta. Conversely, the fetal heart pumps low-oxygen, nutrient-depleted blood through the umbilical arteries back to the placenta.
AABB is an international, not-for-profit organization representing individuals and institutions involved in the field of transfusion medicine and biotherapies.
A cord blood bank is a facility which stores umbilical cord blood for future use. Both private and public cord blood banks have developed in response to the potential for cord blood in treating diseases of the blood and immune systems. Public cord blood banks accept donations to be used for anyone in need, and as such function like public blood banks. Traditionally, public cord blood banking has been more widely accepted by the medical community. Private cord blood banks store cord blood solely for potential use by the donor or donor's family. Private banks typically charge around $2,000 for the collection and around $200 a year for storage.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, commonly known as HSBC and formerly known as HongkongBank, is the Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary of the HSBC banking group, for which it was the parent entity until 1991. The largest bank in Hong Kong, HSBC operates branches and offices throughout the Indo-Pacific region and in other countries around the world. It is also one of the three commercial banks licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to issue banknotes for the Hong Kong dollar.
Cord blood is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders such as cancer.
The Singapore Cord Blood Bank is Singapore's only public cord blood bank that collects, processes and stores donated umbilical cord blood for use in stem cell transplants. Its cord blood units may be searched for use by qualifying transplant centers around the world.
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates the Be The Match Registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and umbilical cord blood units in the United States.
Crioestaminal - Saúde e Tecnologia, SA, was founded in 2003, becoming the first umbilical cord blood bank in the Iberian Peninsula. Since then, it has developed into the largest Portuguese and one of the five largest cryo-preservation banks in Europe with over 60,000 stored samples. Crioestaminal was the first company to be authorized by the Portuguese Ministry of Health and is the only family bank with an AABB accreditation in Portugal. In Europe, there are only five banks with an AABB accreditation.
Precision Cellular Storage is a transport quality cord blood stem cell bank, with operations in Doha and the United Kingdom. The company was formerly named Virgin Health Bank until 2018, when it closed to new business and focused on the storage of existing customers' units.
Vitalant is a nonprofit organization that collects blood from volunteer donors and provides blood, blood products and services across the United States. It was founded in 1943 as the Salt River Valley Blood Bank in Phoenix, Arizona.
Relicord is an initiative by the Reliance Industries in the field of biotechnological advancement. It is established as a part of the subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Reliance Life Sciences.
The cord blood bank Cryo-Save AG shut their doors at the end of June 2019. By 17 September, they filed for liquidation. The brand name CryoSave and the client database now belong to CSG-BIO. The clients’ umbilical cords were moved in the 2nd quarter of 2019, to the Polish cord blood bank PBKM, the head of the FamiCord network. FamiCord does not own the cords, they are operating under a third party storage contract.
United Overseas Bank Limited, often known as UOB, is a Singaporean regional bank headquartered at Raffles Place, Singapore, with branches mostly found in Southeast Asia countries.
Matthew Schissler is an American business executive who has served in leadership roles in a number of privately and publicly held companies. He's most notable for having founded and managed Cord Blood America, Inc. (CBAI), a company specializing in the harvesting and storage of umbilical stem cells in the U.S. and worldwide. He currently manages a series of private investment fund, focused a wide variety of companies exhibiting significant growth potential. Matthew Schissler is notably a Founder and Member of GHS Investments, LLC.
Cord lining, cord tissue, or umbilical cord lining membrane, is the outermost layer of the umbilical cord. As the umbilical cord itself is an extension of the placenta, the umbilical cord lining membrane is an extension of the amniotic membrane covering the placenta. The umbilical cord lining membrane comprises two layers: the amniotic layer and the sub-amniotic layer. The umbilical cord lining membrane is a rich source of two strains of stem cells (CLSCs): epithelial stem cells (CLECs) and mesenchymal stem cells (CLMCs). Discovered by Singapore-based CellResearch Corporation in 2004, this is the best known source for harvesting human stem cells.
Cryo-Cell International, Inc. is a cord blood bank. It was founded by Dan Richard in 1989. Cryo-Cell International is the first private cord blood bank to separate and store stem cells. Cryo-Cell is headquartered outside of Tampa, in Oldsmar, Florida. In January 1997, the Company's stock began trading on the NASDAQ Small Cap market under symbol CCEL.
Bloodworks Northwest is a blood bank and medical research institute headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that serves 90 hospitals in western Washington and Oregon. It has formerly been known as the Puget Sound Blood Center and King County Central Blood Bank.
Cells4Life is a private stem cell bank based in the United Kingdom. It procures, processes and stores human umbilical cord blood and tissue samples that may be used for stem cell treatments. Cells4Life is the largest provider of umbilical cord blood banking services in the UK, with over 50% of the UK market. Based in Burgess Hill, the company also provides umbilical stem cell storage and collection services in Spain, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Pakistan and Kenya.
CellResearch Corporation is a biotechnology company with a primary focus on skin cell and cord lining stem cell research. CellResearch has one of the world's largest private skin-, scar-, and keloid-cell libraries which have been used for research by cell culture laboratories worldwide, including those at Harvard University, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. It owns 39 patents worldwide with intellectual property for the isolation of stem cells from the umbilical cord lining membrane of all mammals, which also includes the banking and cultivation of these cells, as well as the therapeutic applications of these cells.
LifeCell International is an Indian biotechnology company established in 2004. It runs India's largest stem cell bank and has also diversified into diagnostics and tissue therapeutics. In 2017 the company launched a community stem cell banking which allows sharing of preserved umbilical cord stem cells among its members. The community stem cell banking is claimed to be among the largest and only one of its kind in India. It was reported in 2017 that LifeCell had preserved stem cells from 3,00,000 individuals in India and was expected to add 60,000 individuals every year in the future