Cordlife
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
CordLife Ltd. is a cord blood banking group based in Singapore and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. It currently has three cord blood processing and storage facilities, in Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Indonesia and in Sydney, Australia.
The company was founded in May 2001 as one of the first private cord blood banks in Southeast Asia and the first in Singapore.[1] In December 2002, the company assisted in the first cord blood transplant from a privately banked source in Singapore.[2] In April 2003, the company acquired the Massachusetts-based company, Cytomatrix LLC.[3] In June 2004, the company restructured itself as CyGenics Ltd (ASX:CYN) and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.[4].
The company proceeded to expand its operations in Southeast Asia and in North Asia with the opening of its facility in Hong Kong in March 2005.[5] In September 2005, the Singapore facility was granted AABB Accreditation. It is currently the only private bank to be so accredited in the region.
In November 2005, the company expanded into Australia by acquiring a majority stake in BioCell Pty Ltd. In January 2006, the company established its presence in Kolkata, India. The occasion was graced by the Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. In September 2006, the company announced plans to set up another facility in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Jakarta facility was officially opened in September 2007[6] and the Kolkata facility is expected to be opened by end 2007. The company also intends to open a larger facility in Singapore.
In December 2006, the company was awarded Technology Pioneer 2007 status by the World Economic Forum.[7] In March 2007, the company renamed itself to CordLife Ltd, to better reflect its focus on cord blood banking.
References
- ↑ First Private Cord Blood Bank In Singapore
- ↑ A Life-Saving Gift, Straits Times, 25 September 2005
- ↑ Singapore-based CordLife acquires US-based Cytomatrix (press release)
- ↑ CyGenics (CYN) listing on the Australian Stock Exchange
- ↑ Leading biotech company launched in Hong Kong
- ↑ Singapore's CordLife opens SE Asia's largest cord blood bank in Jakarta
- ↑ CyGenics Selected In Top 3 Asian Technology Pioneers by World Economic Forum
- Cell Culture System - patent held through the European Patent Office.