Viacord

Viacord

INTERNET: www.viacord.com

PHONE: 866-668-4895

OFFICE: Cambridge, MA

STORAGE: Hebron, KY, outside Cincinnati, OH.

Accreditation: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT: Viacord is one of the original private Cord Blood banks; they have become a subsidiary of Viacell Inc., a biotech company whose Stem Cell research has entered human trials. On Friday 21Jan2005, Viacell went public on Nasdaq:VIAC.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• List of Viacord transplants.
• Live customer support available 24/7; parents or physician can phone during delivery.
• Courier transport with Quick International is available for a flat fee of $150 extra.
• The Viacord collection kit provides a ChloraPrep® One-Step Frepp® Applicator to clean the umbilical cord prior to collecting the Cord Blood.
• In April 2006, Viacord introduced an FDA-approved sterile collection bag Cell Sentinel(TM) which is suitable for surgical deliveries. This was developed in collaboration with medical equipment manuFACTurer Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL).
• The Viacord processing method is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge. The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use.
• The Sepax processing system has BLA licensure from the FDA. This means that it is classified as a drug, instead of a medical device, because the bag already contains anti-coagulant instead of having to add it later.
• More than 120,000 Cord Blood units have been processed worldwide with the Sepax system, mostly at public banks. In their validation of the Sepax system, Viacord achieved 88% recovery of CD34+ marked Stem Cells.
• If the final Stem Cell count is low (for transplant use), parents have the option to not bank and receive a refund.
• No enrollment fee. First year storage included in processing fees.
• Payment plans start at $43/month. Storage fee fixed at $125.
• Viacord referral program awards a $50 gift card if a friend enrolls. Viacord also has a Gift Registry.
• In-house program to help physicians with the paperwork of billing a patient’s insurance for cord blood collection.
• Charity Program: Viacord is currently running the Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program for Dr. Lubin of Children’s Hospital in Oakland (CHORI). To enroll call the special number 866-861-8435.
• In the 2nd quarter of 2006 Viacord passed the mark of 100,000 cord blood units stored.

ADDITIONAL information: In the summer of 2002, Viacord built a proprietary laboratory and storage facility in Hebron, KY (outside Cincinnati, OH) and began processing cord blood to separate MNC. Previously, Viacord stored whole blood at the Hoxworth Blood Center of the Univ. of Cincinnati, but those collections were moved to Hebron. Viacord’s parent company, Viacell Inc., has several research partnerships and several products in development. See their website for the current status of these projects. Of particular note:

• The CEO of Viacell, Marc Beer, is a former officer of Genzyme, one of Viacell’s partners.
• In Nov 2003 Viacell acquired the European company Kourion Therapeutics, which claims to have isolated multi-potent Stem Cells, which they call “Unrestricted Somatic Stem Cells”, from cord blood.
• In Dec 2003 Amgen invested $20 million in Viacell.
• In Sept 2004 Viacell obtained exclusive rights to a patent for cryopreservation of human oocytes (unfertilized eggs) developed by Galileo Research Laboratories. The resulting product is called ViaCyte(SM) and will enter clinical trial in 2006.
• On Friday, 21 Jan 2005, Viacell issued an IPO and went public on Nasdaq stock exchange as VIAC.
• In Sept 2005, Viacell had to suspend a phase I clinical trial in which patients were receiving transplants of expanded cord blood. The trial was stopped because two patients (out of developed acute Graft-versus-Host Disease (aGVHD; both recovered).
• In Feb 2006 Viacell opened a new corporate headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., with laboratory space for research and development, as well as manuFACTuring of cell products for clinical trials. ViaCell also has research and development operations in Singapore.
• In 2006 Viacell also entered a research partnership with Centocor to evaluate, in preclinical studies, the cardiac applications of cord blood stem cells using the Cordis Corporation’s NOGA XP delivery system.
• In Jan 2007 Viacell launched an exclusive 3 year marketing agreement with the largest retailer of maternity clothes, Mothers Work, Inc.
• In Feb 2007, Viacord closed its “CB001″ clinical trial of transplanting expanded cord blood.

Quarterly Reports of public companies can be accessed by searching under their name at the SEC web site Edgar. The financial analysis website, Motley Fool (requires registration), frequently writes about Viacell. Viacell has been using the income from its Viacord cord blood banking to underwrite its research programs. On the whole, the company has been losing money, but hopes to turn the corner in 2007. In Feb 2007, a financial review of Viacell operations was published by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Spurl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb