The acquisition provides the companies with shared scientific knowledge and resources, leading to a stronger foundation for advancing newborn stem cell research
LOS ANGELES, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Generate Life Sciences (Generate) today announced that it has acquired the Cell Care international cord blood banking group (Cell Care), which comprises Cell Care in Australia, along with Insception Lifebank and Cells for Life in Canada.* Cell Care joins Generate’s Cord Blood Registry in creating a global network of newborn stem cell (umbilical cord blood and tissue) banks from which to further their collective regenerative medicine research, while also providing Canadian and Australian families with greater access to reproductive and genetic services that help grow and protect healthy families from preconception into adulthood.
“We envisioned a truly global platform from which to offer our reproductive, genetic and stem cell services when we established Generate Life Sciences,” commented Richard Jennings, CEO of Generate. “This acquisition is consistent with our strategic growth plan and reflects our enthusiasm for the next generation of newborn stem cell-based regenerative medicine therapies. Together with the scientists at Cell Care, our team is committed to furthering this promising area of research and to increasing access to novel stem cell therapies for more families around the world”.
This acquisition expands the operational footprint of Generate Life Sciences across three countries, alongside its distribution network for frozen donor gametes in more than 40 countries. In particular, it further increases access to newborn stem cell preservation and genetic screening services across North America.
“Generate Life Sciences is the natural partner for Cell Care given our established industry and scientific leadership in our respective markets,” says Brent Dennison, Chief Executive Officer of Cell Care. “As part of Generate, we will collaborate with Generate’s scientific team to support the exciting therapeutic applications for newborn stem cells and deliver great value to the thousands of families who have banked their children’s stem cells.”
Stem cells derived from umbilical cord sources have numerous emerging clinical uses in regenerative medicine, given their potent anti-inflammatory, immune-modulating and tissue reparative properties. Investigational cellular therapies, derived from umbilical cord blood and tissue, are targeting clinical conditions such as autoimmune disease, acquired neurological diseases and lung disease. Generate and Cell Care have been actively working to research and develop cord blood and cord tissue based therapies through local and international partnerships with leading academic institutions and biotech firms. Most recently, Cell Care helped develop a cord blood trial for patients with COVID-19 respiratory complications and Generate established a biorepository to facilitate investigational studies in both acute and persistent COVID-19 using newborn stem cells through their established network of research partners.
“Newborn stem cells have unique properties which make them a preferred biological source material to adult stem cells for an increasing number of indications,” said Jaime Shamonki, MD, Generate’s Chief Medical Officer. “With the largest newborn stem cell banks in the United States, Canada and Australia uniting under the Generate Life Sciences family, we have an unprecedented opportunity to create a global infrastructure for collecting, researching and manufacturing newborn stem cells to meet current and future demands for this growing category of therapies.”
In Canada and Australia, clients and healthcare professionals will continue working with their local teams at Cell Care, Insception, or Cells for Life. The banks will continue collecting, processing and storing newborn stem cells at their respective facilities, and no revisions will be made to existing processes. However, with their addition into Generate Life Sciences, clients will be able to soon access the full range of family health services offered by the company, which include frozen donor gametes, newborn stem cell preservation and genetic screening. There will be more to announce in this regard in the future.
*This transaction is still pending approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) of Australia, which governs Cell Care.
About Generate Life Sciences
Generate Life Sciences Inc. is a life sciences company helping to grow and protect families through reproductive, newborn stem cell, genetic screening, medical device, and healthcare technology services. We serve families from preconception to post-birth. Our brands — CBR® (Cord Blood Registry®), California Cryobank®, Donor Egg Bank USA™, NW Cryobank®, ReadyGen®, Kitazato USA®, and Donor Application™ — are pioneering leaders that have helped nearly one million families. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Generate operates facilities in Tucson, New York, Boston, Palo Alto, and Rockville, MD. Generate is a portfolio company of GI Partners, a private investment firm based in San Francisco.
About the Cell Care group
The Cell Care group comprises Cell Care in Australia, Insception Lifebank, Cells for Life and the Victoria Angel public bank in Canada. The combined group is one of the world’s top 10 companies in the sector with more than 200,000 cord blood and tissue samples stored. Cell Care has invested in Australian clinical trials investigating the impact of autologous cord blood in type-1 diabetes and sibling cord blood in cerebral palsy, and has supported research into expansion technologies for a number of years. Prior to the acquisition, Cell Care was a portfolio company of CPE Capital, a private investment firm based in Sydney. Visit www.insception.com for more information.
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SOURCE Generate Life Sciences