Headquartered in Washington, DC, BioInformant is the world’s first and only market research firm to specialize in the stem cell industry. When it was incorporated in 2006, BioInformant’s Founder and President, Cade Hildreth, was completing a M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a Specialization in Bioinformatics, the study of analyzing large quantities of biological data.
Pulling together a talented team of bioinformatics experts from around Washington, DC, Cade launched BioInformant with the belief that tracking the stem cell industry had to be an easier task than analyzing billions of base pairs of DNA.
2006 was an exciting time to be entering the industry, because Shinya Yamanaka had recently discovered induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), and other stem cell types like mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), were starting to show therapeutic promise. However, the enormous potential of stem cells had not yet been discovered.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, to be near NIH and FDA headquarters, BioInformant became distinctively suited to tracking the marketplace, as our database of historical information on which to base market predictions grew more and more robust.
For many years, we diligently served the stem cell industry, attracting all-star clients that included GE Healthcare, Pfizer, Goldman Sachs, PerkinElmer, Merck, and more.
Becoming the World’s Largest Publisher of Stem Cell Industry News
In late 2014, a pivotal moment occurred. In addition to leading BioInformant, Cade became a stem cell patient.
Outside the office, Cade had been an elite rugby player, having represented the USA Rugby 7s Team, the USA 15s Rugby Team, and the USA Touch Rugby Team. As a USA Rugby Athlete, Cade spent five years reporting to the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Chula Vista, California.
Cade also played rugby internationally in Christchurch, NZ, represented Australian Rugby Superclubs, and was honored as the “2012 International Rugby Player of the Year.”
Unfortunately, Cade had a severe knee injury that required back-to-back knee surgeries in 2012 (Auckland, NZ) and 2013 (Washington, DC, USA). After the surgeries, Cade lost nearly complete function of the right knee. In an effort to resolve the surgical damage, Cade saw over two dozen different specialists, including orthopedists, physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, certified dry needle practitioners, a knee brace specialist, and too many others to count.
One approach that did provide some relief was to have the swelling of the knee drained under ultrasound guidance, but it was a painful and expensive treatment that only provided short-term function. Cade was also prescribed high-doses of oral and topic anti-inflammatories, which worked temporarily, but did not address the underlying damage.
As a result of poor surgical outcomes on two continents and failed visits to dozens of specialists, Cade had an autologous stem cell treatment in 2014 at the National Spine and Pain Centers in Fairfax, VA. Within 3 months of the treatment, Cade was back to full capacity, representing the USA in the 2015 Touch Rugby World Cup.
Following this profound experience, our team realized that we couldn’t limit access to stem cell industry data.
Stem cell insights needed to be democratized.
Democratizing Stem Cell Industry Coverage
In line with that belief, we made a bold decision in early 2015 to share the majority of our stem cell industry coverage for free.
Prior to that date, we had interviewed over 1,000 stem cell industry executives, investors, and scientists, a few of whom are highlighted below:
- Dr. Robert Hariri – CEO of Celularity and Co-Founder of Human Longevity Inc. (HLI)
- Kaz Hirao – CEO of Cellular Dynamics, a Fujifilm Company
- Yaky Yanay – Co-CEO of Pluristem
- Dr. Yael Margolin – CEO of Gamida Cell
- Robin Smith – CEO of ORIG3N
- Dr. Chen-Tsai – CEO of Applied StemCell
- Dr. Ross Macdonald – CEO of Cynata Therapeutics
- Bernard Siegel – Executive Director of the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF)
We had also collected an enormous amount of trend data and knew more about the stem cell and cord blood industry than anyone else worldwide.
As a result, a shocking thing happened.
BioInformant went from a 1,000 views per month, to 10,000 views per month, to 40,000 – 50,000 views per month today. With our readership nearing a half million views per year, it is clear that the industry has been seeking this type of content.
Soon, our Twitter account was the fastest growing stem cell account with 21,700+ followers and Cade Hildreth became a Top Influencer for Stem Cells on LinkedIn with 21,400+ followers.
BioInformant’s email list also grew exponentially to exceed 15,500+ subscribers today.
This is how BioInformant transformed from a market research firm into the world’s largest publisher of stem cell industry news.
Who is BioInformant Today?
Today, BioInformant continues to serve all-star clients, but we also serve the public. Cade regularly speaks as a media expert on stem cell market trends, recently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal, Xconomy, and Vogue Magazine.
Famous for saying “We are not made of drugs, we are made of cells,” Cade is the communications genius that has grown BioInformant from a market research company into a stem cell publishing powerhouse.
Cade also studied Biology and Chemistry at Dartmouth College and Smith College, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Georgetown University, and Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
As a result of our success, the BioInformant Team now includes individuals from the USA, Australia, Germany, and the UK, allowing us to deliver breaking stem cell news from around the globe.
