EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The first transplant using cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) occurred in October 1988. Since then, significant advancements have been made in researching umbilical cord blood-derived hematopoietic and progenitor cells. To date, over 40,000 umbilical cord blood transplants (UCBTs) have been performed worldwide, treating a variety of conditions, including hematologic, metabolic, immunologic, neoplastic, and neurologic disorders. Public cord blood banks now store more than 800,000 units, while private banks house over 8.1 million units globally.
Cord blood storage began as a commercial service in the early 1990s, but cord tissue storage only became available commercially in 2008, with HealthBanks Biotech Company Ltd. in Taiwan leading the way. Hong Kong's HealthBaby and Cryolife also introduced the service in 2009. In the U.S., Cord Blood Registry (CBR) was the first private company to offer cord tissue storage in July 2010. Today, nearly all U.S. cord blood banks and about one-third of global cord blood banks provide cord tissue storage.
LifebankUSA pioneered placental blood storage in the U.S. in 2006 and introduced placental tissue storage in 2011. Americord Registry followed with placental tissue banking in September 2017. Internationally, several cord blood banks now offer placental blood and tissue storage. Some have diversified into other stem cell sources, such as dental pulp stem cells. For example, DentCell, managed by Cryoholdco, Latin America's largest cord blood banking consolidator, focuses on dental pulp stem cells. Additionally, a few cord blood banks are expanding into adipose-derived stem cell storage.
Recent years have seen record levels of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the cord blood industry. The market is now predominantly controlled by a handful of large cord blood banking operators, including Global Cord Blood Corporation (GCBC), Cord Blood Registry (owned by CooperSurgical), ViaCord, Cryo-Cell International, Cordlife Group, VCANBIO Cell & Gene Engineering Corporation, Lifecell International, Cryoholdco, and Medipost. This consolidation is notable given the rapid growth of the industry in the early 2000s. Significant consolidation has occurred in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America:
- PBK FamiCord has acquired most of the European market, including merging with it largest competitor Vita34 and acquiring assets from Cryo-Save AG's 2019 bankruptcy.
- CooperSurgical has consolidated reproductive, newborn stem cell, and genetic services within the U.S., managing at least 1.1 million units.
- Cryoholdco has amassed stem cell banking assets across Latin America, including four in Mexico, two in Colombia, two in Brazil, and one in Peru, totaling an estimated 300,000 units.
- Sanpower Group dominates the Asian market through its ownership of Global Cord Blood Corporation and other assets across Southeast Asia, controlling over 1.2 million units.
- India, with its burgeoning population of 1.4 billion, rivals China in size, making up approximately 36% of the world's 7.8 billion people. LifeCell International is the leading stem cell bank in India, storing over 320,000 units.
The cord blood industry has also seen substantial advancements in perinatal tissue applications, including umbilical cord blood, umbilical cord tissue, placental blood and tissue, and amniotic fluid. This has led to a proliferation of storage services for these biomaterials.
Many cord blood banks have expanded their offerings to include:
- Reproductive and assisted fertility services
- Pre-and post-natal genetic testing
- Cell therapy product development
The Cord Blood and Tissue Market is composed of several segments, including:
- 1. Storage (Cryopreservation): Revenue comes from cord blood collection, processing, and long-term storage contracts. Investment firms have recently entered this market, acquiring stakes in cord blood and tissue banks.
- 2. Transplantation Medicine: There is a robust market for cord blood use in treating diseases such as leukemia and sickle cell disease. Over 40,000 UCB transplants have been performed, with more than 80 medical conditions approved for treatment with cord blood-derived stem cells.
- 3. Regenerative Medicine: Research into the use of cord blood and tissue in regenerative medicine is expanding. Clinical trials are exploring treatments for neurological disorders like cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, and hearing loss. RheinCell Therapeutics, now owned by Catalent, has achieved GMP certification for manufacturing cord blood-derived iPSCs. The FDA approved the world's first expanded cord blood cell therapy, Omisirge, in April 2023.
- 4. Research Supply Products: This segment includes cells, tissues, reagents, and kits. Major market leaders such as Lonza, STEMCELL Technologies, and AllCells are now offering cord blood products for research purposes.
This report provides a comprehensive analysis, including:
- 1. The number of cord blood and tissue units cryopreserved in public and private banks worldwide.
- 2. The number of hematopoietic stem cell transplants performed globally using cord blood cells.
- 3. The use of cord blood cells in regenerative medicine clinical trials.
- 4. The decline in cord blood utilization for HSCT since 2005.
- 5. Emerging technologies influencing public cord blood banks' financial sustainability.
- 6. Future prospects for companion products derived from cord blood.
- 7. The evolving landscape of the cord blood and tissue banking market.
- 8. Expansion and extension of services by cord blood banks.
- 9. Economic models and cost analyses for public and private cord blood banks.
- 10. Profit margins and pricing for processing and storage in private banks.
- 11. Rates per cord blood unit in the U.S. and Europe.
- 12. Indications for cord blood-derived HSCs in transplantation medicine.
- 13. Diseases targeted by cord blood-derived MSCs in regenerative medicine.
- 14. Cord blood processing technologies and the dominant market leaders offering them.
- 15. Clinical trials, published scientific papers, and funding for cord blood research.
- 16. Patents for cord blood, cord tissue, and placental products.
- 17. Transplantation data from various cord blood registries.
Key questions addressed in this market report include:
- 1. Strategies to improve the financial stability of private cord blood banks.
- 2. Strategies to improve the financial stability of public cord blood banks.
- 3. Companion products being developed from cord blood and tissue.
- 4. Costs for processing and storing cord blood.
- 5. Market value of cryopreserved cord blood units upon release.
- 6. Financial losses commonly incurred by public cord blood banks.
- 7. Net profit margins for private cord blood banks.
- 8. Pricing for processing and storage services in private banks.
- 9. Rates per cord blood unit in the U.S. and Europe.
- 10. Revenues from cord blood sales for major banks.
- 11. Accreditation systems for cord blood and tissue banks.
- 12. Comparative merits of cord blood processing technologies.
- 13. Strategies to increase cord blood utilization in transplantation.
- 14. Preferred TNC counts for transplantation.
- 15. Number of registered clinical trials using cord blood and cord tissue.
- 16. Clinical trials studying ex vivo expansion of cord blood and a recent product approval.
- 17. Annual number of matching and mismatching cord blood transplantations.
- 18. Share of cord blood transplants compared to bone marrow and peripheral blood transplants.
- 19. Likelihood of finding matching allogeneic cord blood units by ethnicity.
- 20. Top countries for cord blood donations.
- 21. Diseases targeted by cord blood and tissue-derived MSCs in clinical trials.
- 22. Breakdown of clinical trials investigating cord blood-derived cells by geography, study type, phase, and funding.
- 23. Breakdown of trials exploring cord tissue-derived cells.
- 24. Current patent rates and leading jurisdictions for cord blood, cord tissue, and placental patents.
- 25. Leading inventors, applicants, and owners of perinatal stem cell patents.
- 26. Number of units stored by public and private banks worldwide.
- 27. Leading cord blood banks by region and storage volume.
- 28. Market sizes for cord blood and tissue banking and therapeutic applications.
This global strategic report offers a thorough analysis of the cord blood and tissue banking market, providing insights into current trends, future projections, and key players in the industry. It is an essential resource for those seeking a comprehensive understanding of the market without investing excessive time in research.