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The acquisition provides the companies with shared scientific knowledge and resources leading to a stronger foundation for advancing newborn stem cell banking and research
MELBOURNE, Australia, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cell Care, Australia's leading cord blood bank, today announced it has been acquired by Generate Life Sciences (Generate).* Generate operates Cord Blood Registry (CBR), North America's largest cord blood bank and one of the world's preeminent stem cell R&D organisations. Cell Care joins CBR to create a unique, international scientific collaboration to further newborn stem cell and regenerative medicine research. As a result of the acquisition, Cell Care will, in addition to cord blood and tissue banking, provide Australian families with greater access to reproductive and genetic services to grow and protect families from pre-conception into adulthood. Generate already has extensive donor sperm distribution in Australia through its partnership with Monash IVF.
"We envisioned a truly international platform from which to offer our reproductive, genetic and stem cell services when we established Generate Life Sciences," commented Richard Jennings, CEO of Generate. "Cell Care is Australia's most experienced cord blood bank, and we are excited to include them in our global network of leading stem cell companies. This international collaboration provides an opportunity to utilise our collective strengths to advance the use of newborn stem cells in future therapies."
"Generate Life Sciences is certainly the best partner for Cell Care given their industry and scientific leadership," says Brent Dennison, Cell Care's CEO. "The great benefit to Cell Care and its customers will be our collaboration with Generate's scientific team who are driving exciting developments in therapeutic applications using newborn stem cells. It delivers important value to the 40,000 Australian families who have banked their children's stem cells with Cell Care." Mr. Dennison noted that clients and healthcare professionals will continue working with Cell Care's Australian team. Cell Care processes and stores newborn stem cells at its state-of-the-art facility in Melbourne.
"Newborn stem cells have unique properties that make them a preferred biological source for an increasing number of conditions," said Jaime Shamonki, MD, Generate's Chief Medical Officer. "Cell Care and CBR have conducted numerous clinical trials investigating the uses for cord blood and tissue derived-cells. Now, with the Cell Care group joining the largest newborn stem cell bank in the United States, we have created a global infrastructure for researching and manufacturing newborn stem cells to power this rapidly expanding category of therapies."
Stem cells derived from the umbilical cord have emerging uses in regenerative medicine given their anti-inflammatory, immune-modulating, and tissue reparative properties. Cell Care and Generate research and develop cord blood and tissue-derived cellular therapies through partnerships with leading academic institutions and biotech firms. Most recently, Cell Care helped establish a cord blood trial for preterm babies at risk of neurological damage and Generate has established a biorepository to facilitate investigational studies in both acute and persistent COVID-19 using newborn stem cells through their extensive network of research partners.
*This transaction is still pending approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) of Australia.
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 and 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 over 200,000 cord blood and tissue samples stored. Cell Care has invested in Australian clinical trials investigating the impact of cord blood in type-1 diabetes and cerebral palsy, and has supported research into stem cell 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.cellcare.com.au for more information.
Media Contact
Generate Life Sciences
Azeem Zeekrya
HDMZ
azeem.zeekrya@hdmz.com
312-506-5244
Cell Care Group
Patty Barrett
Uptown Communications
patty@uptowncomms.com
0424 324 181
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