WARREN, N.J., Aug. 31, 2018 — Celularity, an allogeneic immuno-oncology and placental cell therapeutics company, today announced it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CariCord, the family cord blood bank established by the University of Colorado and ClinImmune Labs. Through its exclusive ClinImmune Labs relationship, CariCord is the first, and so far the only family cord blood bank to operate inside a FDA Licensed Laboratory. ClinImmune Labs is an academic component of the School of Medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition will advance Celularity as an innovation leader through CariCord’s strategic relationship with Clinimmune Labs, which operates the University of Colorado Cord Blood Bank (UCCBB), an AABB-accredited, FDA-licensed allogeneic cord blood bank supporting stem cell transplantation worldwide.
“CariCord’s national reputation, coupled with ClinImmune’s world-class translational research and cell manufacturing capabilities, will add important building blocks in our continued growth and expansion,” said Robert J. Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., Celularity’s Founder and CEO. “Celularity proprietary technology recovers critical cell populations and tissues from post partum placentas, which is fundamental to our transformative immuno-oncology, cell therapeutics, and functional regeneration applications. Now CariCord, in combination with our legacy business, LifebankUSA, will connect families to many of these same platform technologies, to create their own family bank from their newborn’s placenta and cord blood after birth.”
“CariCord and Celularity share a vision of a future in which saving the abundant resources in a newborn’s placenta after birth is the norm, sparking a sea change in the way we think about longevity and health span,” said Calvin Cole, President and CEO of CariCord. “We’re immensely excited to become a part of Celularity’s transformation of immuno-oncology and cell therapeutics.”
The acquisition, which is expected to close during the Fourth Quarter 2018, is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Until this is complete, each company will continue to operate independently.
About Celularity, Inc.
Celularity (www.celularity.com), based in Warren, New Jersey, is a biotechnology innovation leader, harnessing the power of placental-derived cell populations to deliver transformative, allogeneic off-the-shelf immunotherapies and cell therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. Visit www.celularity.com to learn more about Celularity.
About CariCord, Inc
CariCord, Inc., based in Aurora, Colorado, is a leading family cord blood bank established in 2013 by ClinImmune Labs and the University of Colorado. It is associated with the University of Colorado Cord Blood Bank, the United States’second-largest allogeneic cord blood bank. For more information please visit www.CariCord.com.
Do you have questions about this merger fits into the trend of cord blood industry consolidation? Ask them in the comments below.
Interested to learn more? View the”Global Cord Blood Industry Report 2018.”
