Vita 34 AG: Expansion of Product Range with Permit for Collecting Umbilical Cord Tissue

– Unique characteristic: Vita 34 is the only company in Germany that can store umbilical cord tissue along with umbilical cord blood

– The storage of umbilical cord tissue offers additional sales and revenue potential for Vita 34

Leipzig, 26 September 2013 – Vita 34 AG (WKN A0BL84), Europe’s oldest private stem cell bank and a specialist for cryo-preservation, has been granted a permit for collecting umbilical cord tissue in Saxony. Back in May 2013 Vita 34 had already received permission for the processing, cryo-preservation and storage of umbilical cord blood, after a successful inspection on the part of the State Direction Saxony and the Paul Ehrlich Institute. In accordance with the permit for collecting umbilical cord blood just granted in line with §20b German Pharmaceuticals Act, Vita 34 is the only private stem cell bank in Germany that can store not only umbilical cord blood, but also umbilical cord tissue according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines, thus expanding the company’s product range.

The mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), which are found particularly in the connective tissue of the umbilical cord blood, are responsible for the development of bones, cartilage, muscles and tendons in the human body. Thus, they offer an important medical base material for creating the corresponding tissue in the laboratory following a disease or an accident. In addition, MSCs have immune-modulatory characteristics, which can be used when treating a disruptive immune reaction, for example, as is found in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Dr. André Gerth, Chairman of the Management Board of Vita 34 AG: ‘With the permit for collecting umbilical cord tissue we have a really unique selling point on the German market. Physicians and midwives in birthing clinics are receiving this topic with great interest, and are expressing themselves positively concerning this additional option for storing stem cells when they speak with our training representatives. The additional storage of umbilical cord tissue provides Vita 34 with new sales and revenue potential. Here, in Europe already some 80% of expecting parents who have the umbilical cord blood of their children collected and stored, opt additionally for the preservation of the umbilical cord tissue.’

Vita 34 is now pursuing the goal of expanding the collection permit throughout Germany in the short-term, and of entering into contracts for umbilical cord tissue collection with all of its roughly 800 partner clinics. ‘We see a great potential for the therapeutic application of mesenchymal stem cells, since research into MSCs is continuing to be done with an intense focus in the field of regenerative medicine. It is remarkable that some two-thirds of the nearly 200 clinical studies are counting on autologous, that is the body’s own mesenchymal stem cells,’ summarizes Dr. André Gerth.

Company Profile

Vita 34 was founded in 1997 as the first private umbilical cord blood bank in Europe and, as a complete provider, offers collection logistics, preparation and storage of umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue. The basis for its successful work is an outstanding position in the technological segment of cryo-preservation. Here, cells and tissues are preserved alive at temperatures around minus 190 degrees Celsius, and can be used if needed in the context of medical treatment. Parents of more than 95,000 children are already taking advantage of this offering and have provided for their children with a stem cell deposit at this Leipzig company.