Κορυφαίες 4 Εταιρείες Πηγουνιού Αίματος για Επένδυση (Οκτώβριος 2026)

Συλλογή Βλαστικών Κυττάρων νωρίς

Stem Cells are, together with genomics, one of the most promising paths for new revolutionary treatments. We already partially covered this in our article “5 Καλύτερες Εταιρείες Βλαστικών Κυττάρων για Επένδυση (Απρίλιος 2023)”.

As we explained then, one key issue with stem cell therapies is to get them in the first place, as they are very rare to non-existent in adults. Many workarounds are being developed, but there is no simple or cheap solution to this problem.

Another issue is that the best treatment will need to use stem cells from the patient himself. Cells from anyone else risk rejection by the immune system, like organ transplants.

But what if everybody had a stored stockpile of their own stem cells, ready to be used in case of disease or an accident? This is the promise of cord blood storage.

Αποθήκευση Πηγουνιού Αίματος

Cord blood is blood from the umbilical cord, the blood vessels connecting a baby to the mother. This blood in the cord is the baby’s blood and is infused with many stem cells.

This is because babies are created from multiple stem cells multiplying and differentiating during the pregnancy. These stem cells then fade away in the last stages of development and after birth.

At birth, the umbilical cord is cut from the baby, so it is really just a matter of preparation for its stem cells’ rich blood not to be lost. This is a perfectly harmless procedure for the baby.

Πηγή: Tech Bytes Online

Umbilical cord blood has been used since 1988 for treating deadly and life-wrecking diseases. For example, λεμφοκυτταρική νόσο, άλλους καρκίνους, ανωμαλίες των αιμοσφαιρίων, ανοσολογικές διαταραχές και αμέτρητα σπάνια σύνδρομα.

It is also likely that with new stem cell treatments coming out, cord blood might see its applications growing dramatically with time.

Πηγή: Famicord

The procedure is remarkably simple, with the stem cells prepared and then in ultra-cold storage.

The business model usually charges an initial fee for collecting and preparing the sample and then a recurring fee to cover the storage cost. Because of the sunk costs and a very motivated client base, such “subscriptions” tend to be very sticky, with a 95-99% retention rate.

Πηγή: Vita 34

Κορυφαίες 4 Μετοχές Πηγουνιού Αίματος

There are many possibilities for cord blood storage, from public facilities to private companies. We will describe here the publicly-listed companies involved in cord blood collection and storage.

1. Vita 34 AG

A German company recently merged with the Polish Stem Cell Bank (aka PBKM). It is commercialized under both the names Vita 34 and Famicord.

The company operates in Europe, with 13 laboratories, and stores 600,000 cord blood and other tissue samples. To collect the samples, it collaborates with 1,300 hospitals. The countries in Europe where it does not directly operate, like the UK, Sweden, and the Balkans, are reached through local partnerships.

Πηγή: Vita 34

The company has registered $63M of revenues in the last 12 months, for a loss of -$11M.

It also has warned “against the backdrop of the tense economic environment”  for 2022 and of some $1.5M in costs for restructuring surplus capacity following the merger with PBKM.

At the same time, η εναρμόνιση της λογιστικής θα πρέπει να αυξήσει τα έσοδα κατά 9 εκατομμύρια δολάρια, which would bring the company back in the green.

Investors in Vita 34 will bet on its dominant position in the European markets and its capacity to optimize costs now that the expansion phase is slowing down. It is also by far the largest and most liquid cord blood-related stock.

2. Cellularity

CELU Διάγραμμα τιμής

The company was formed from a Celgene spin-off in 2017. While not strictly based on cord blood, Cellularity uses a very closed technology, θεραπείες αλληλογενών κυττάρων προεμφυτευτικού πλακούντα. It means they collect cells from the placenta after birth instead of the umbilical cord. It is similar to autologous cell therapies, notably used by companies like Brainstorm Cell. But placenta cells could be much cheaper and easier to scale.

Ideally, Cellularity technology could bring forth the combined advantage of cord blood therapies with the “off-the-shelf” nature of autologous cell therapies. So, it could be applied to even people whose parents did not store cord blood at birth.

Cellularity invested $80M σε μια εξειδικευμένη μονάδα παραγωγής για την παραγωγή των βλαστικών κυττάρων της, με απασχόληση 100 ατόμων. There, it manufactures τα εμπορευματοποιημένα προϊόντα βιοϋλικών της, mostly for surgery and wound care.

Πηγή: Cellularity

Its research clinical pipeline on αλληλογενείς θεραπείες κυττάρων is still early, with only three clinical trials in phase 1.

Πηγή: Cellularity

Thanks to its commercialized products, Cellularity is already profitable and cheaper at 2022-2023 valuation levels compared to its recent profits. Investors in the company will want to keep a close eye on the clinical trial results and results from potential competitors’ autologous cell therapies.

3. Cryo-Cell International, Inc.

CCEL Διάγραμμα τιμής

The US company is storing more than 500,000 samples from 87 countries.

The company claims Prepa Cyte-CB technology allows for significantly higher stem cell recovery levels and more possible treatments if needed. It also insists on the value of storing τόσο πηγούνιο αίμα όσο και ιστό ομφάλιουs.  It is also συνεργάζεται με το Πανεπιστήμιο Duke για νέες δυνατότητες θεραπείας.

The company is profitable, with a $2.7M net income in 2022 from $30M in revenues. Its cash flow is for now limited by investment in machinery and the Duke University agreement, in which the company spent $17M in 2022.

Cryo-Cell is a good match for investors looking for an already profitable and well-established cord blood company. It even irregularly distributes dividends, όπως τον Αύγουστο 2022, even if none has been scheduled for the foreseeable future.

4. ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc.

THMO Διάγραμμα τιμής

ThemoGenesis has pioneered automated systems to harvest cord blood stem cells since 2006 with the AXP System. Its system has collected up to 1 million cord blood units to date.

It is also active in bone marrow collection systems and other cell-sorting technologies.

Πηγή: Thermogenesis

The company could benefit massively from the development of CAR-T therapies and the overall growing interest in stem cell, cord blood, and placental cell therapies. Its future relies entirely upon such therapies, from niche products and rare treatments to standardized and regular procedures.

The company’s main attraction comes from its technical prowess and leadership in the sector. It also recently invested in a 35,500+ square foot state-of-the-art facility, expected to generate $10-16M of revenue once fully rented to up to 12 startups in the stem cell field.

Financially, the company has registered μια καθαρή ζημία -11,2 εκατομμυρίων δολαρίων το 2022, με έσοδα 10,5 εκατομμύρια δολάρια.

Investors in this stock will need to consider the company’s regular losses, as well as its frequent money-raising from stock issuance. In the past, this has caused significant dilution and stock price decline.

Nevertheless, if the company would turn profitable from a boom in stem cell activity, it could radically change the market perception of the company and its stock price. So, this is more of a high-risk, high-reward bet to capitalize on the growing potential of stem cell therapies.

Περαιτέρω Πληροφορίες

You can read more about stem therapies and publicly-listed companies in this field in our article “5 Καλύτερες Εταιρείες Βλαστικών Κυττάρων για Επένδυση (Απρίλιος 2023)“.

You can also learn more about cord blood and its therapeutic potential at το Ίδρυμα Πηγουνιού Αίματος, which includes a rich database of parents’ guides, service provider lists, etc…