In this interview with James Alexis Mendez, we discuss the market strategy of CryoHoldco, a stem cell bank holding company that is the market leader in Latin America and one of the ten largest cord blood banks in the world. James Alexis Mendez currently serves as the CFO and Board member of CryoHoldco. Approaching 200,000 stem cell units in storage, CryoHoldco is more than 5X larger than any other stem cell bank in Latin America. CryoHoldco owns the cord blood market leaders in both Mexico and Colombia, and plans to expand into other regions of Latin America. [Read more…]
Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs)
LIfT BioSciences gains access to half a million allogeneic donors through collaboration with Gift of Life Biologics
LIfT BioSciences gains access to half a million allogeneic donors through collaboration with Gift of Life Biologics
London, 03 April 2025 – LIfT BioSciences, (‘LIfT’ or ‘the Company’), a rapidly emerging biotech and the global leader in neutrophil immunotherapies, and Gift of Life Biologics, (‘GOLB’) a leader in the provision of cellular starting material for cell therapies, announce a collaboration with GOLB as LIfT’s preferred partner for sourcing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for the production of its clinical grade Immunomodulatory Alpha Neutrophils (IMANs), a first-in-class cell therapy designed to overcome treatment resistance in solid tumours as the Company prepares to initiate its clinical trials. [Read more…]
Cord Blood Stem Cells, as Compared to Other Stem Cell Alternatives
Since the first stem cell transplant occurred more than 50 years ago (1957), there has been a nearly exponential increase in stem cell transplants, and in late 2012, the millionth stem cell transplant occurred, a landmark event in stem cell medicine. Cord blood stem cells have distinct advantages over other sources, including that they are:
• Younger
• More adaptable
• More pure
These traits result from cord blood stem cells being the earliest (non-controversial) stem cells that can be extracted from a living human, and therefore haven’t been exposed to viruses, chemicals, or pollutants in the environment that can alter cell function.
While bone marrow stem cells are the most commonly recognized type of stem cell used in transplant, cord blood stem cells are increasingly showing advantages over other stem cell sources, including reduced immune reactions (such as GvHD) and a greater flexibility for HLA-mismatched cord blood units to be used in transplant. Although cord blood banks began offering their services in the United States in the mid-1990’s, it is within the past ten-years that the percentage of cord blood transplants has significantly increased.
Today, it is clear that the stem cells contained within cord blood banking have the potential to improve and save lives. Since the first cord blood transplant was performed in 1988, stem cells derived from umbilical blood have been used in more than 30,000 transplants worldwide. However, many expectant parents still do not fully understand the significance of cord blood storage.
Unfortunately, a study published in the 2006 Journal of Reproductive Medicine showed that a third of expectant parents are unaware of the option to preserve cord blood. Of the two-thirds who have some knowledge, 74% describe themselves as “minimally informed.” The study also identified that 84% of prenatal patients expected their obstetricians to be able to provide them with information on the subject of cord blood banking; however, only about 14% were educated about cord blood banking by their nurse or obstetrician.
Subsequently, a 2014 Parent Survey conducted by BioInformant Worldwide, LLC (600+ responses from recent and expectant parents), identified that these percentages have shifted very little since 2006, despite attempts in most countries worldwide to encourage healthcare providers to offer prenatal patients balanced information on public and private cord blood banking options.
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Hazardous sleep deprivation affects your stem cells too
Stem cells are unique for the role they play. They are effectively the body’s raw material – the cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are created, such as those which constitute our blood, brain, or bone.
According to Sleepedia, that is not the only way they are unique. One of the defining features of stem cells is that unlike other cells, they don’t exhaust themselves. After undertaking their duties, they are able to enter a state of hibernation which allows for self-renewal.
They effectively go to sleep and in doing so they make themselves young again, a process known as reversible quiescence. In the body these sleeping stem cells can then remain dormant for years until called into action again. [Read more…]
Stem Cell Therapy as Hemophilia Treatment
Traditionally, hemophilia treatment has leveraged injections of a clotting factor or plasma. Learn more about how stem cells may hold promise for treating hemophilia using a cellular approach.
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