Global cord blood player to offer public banking facility in India

The author has posted comments on this articleSumitra Deb Roy, TNN | Mar 28, 2014, 09.47PM IST MUMBAI: StemCyte India Therapeutics has emerged as the only company to offer private banking and public banking as well as stem cell transplants with umbilical cord blood. The company now plans to expand its operations by starting new collection centres and build over 5,000 plus public inventory of umbilical cord blood units.

"One of the most important aspects in cord blood transplantation is the number of viable stem cells at time of transfusion. Through our patented plasma depletion technology, more than 99.95% of collected nucleated cells are restored during processing. This in turn results in higher probability of successful transplants," said Deepak Chhabra, COO, StemCyte India Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd. He added, "Umbilical cord blood transplant plays a major role in treatment of thalassemia patients. However as on date, there are only 5000 public units in Indian public inventories collectively and these units are not sufficient to treat more than 1 lakh patients who suffer from thalassemia and other blood disorders."

StemCyte India Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd. is a joint venture between StemCyte Inc, US, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd and Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The company started its operations in India in 2010 and has stored 1000 plus public umbilical cord blood units till date.

In 2012, global cord blood therapeutics market was estimated as a multibillion dollar business with double digit CAGR projected through 2020. However, the category in India is still at a very nascent stage with only 2 per thousand parents opting to preserve their babies' stem cells at birth, compared with 50 per thousand in the US, and 250 per thousand in Singapore. The Cord blood market in India is estimated at around $60 million.

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Global cord blood player to offer public banking facility in India