Over the past five years, the global cord blood banking market has substantially matured and consolidated. This has created both serious threats and novel opportunities for the industry. Serious threats to the industry include low rates of utilization for stored cord blood, expensive cord blood transplantation procedures, difficulty educating obstetricians about cellular therapies, and an increasing trend toward industry consolidation.
Marketing pressures are also impacting the industry, with the term “cord blood” being one of the 20 most expensive search terms on Google. Winning online traffic through Google AdWords for the search phrase “Cord Blood” now costs $45.87 in the U.S. When all locations are allowed, the cost for acquiring online traffic through Google AdWords for the phrase “Cord Blood” is $32.91.
Digital competition for cord blood has also been growing increasingly competitive, with cord blood banks competing for online viewership of ads, website content, and ultimately, clients. Most cord blood banks are using Google Adwords to display advertisements within Google Search as a method of acquiring online visitors. Industry leaders are also publishing enormous quantities of industry-relevant content to dominate in organic (non-paid) online search.
However, there are also emerging opportunities for the industry, such as accelerated regulatory pathways for cell therapies in leading countries worldwide, including the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. Cord blood banks are diversifying into new types of stem cell storage, including cord tissue storage, placental stem cells, amniotic stem cells, menstrual stem cells, adipose tissue, and more.
Holding companies are emerging as a global theme, allowing for increased operational efficiency and economy of scale. Cryoholdco has been acquiring cord blood banks throughout Latin America and Sanpower Group has been purchasing them within Asia.
Additionally, investment is flowing into cord blood stem cell expansion technologies. Key strategies being explored for cord blood expansion include nicotinamide-mediated expansion, Notch ligand, SR-1, UM171, PGE2, enforced fucosylation, and more. Major market players competing in this space include Gamida Cell, Nohla Therapeutics, Novartis, Fate Therapeutics, and more.
Finally, growing numbers of investors are entering the cord blood banking marketplace, led by groups such as:
- ABS Capital Partners & HLM Management
- KKR & Company
- Bay City Capital
- GTCR, LLC
- Excalibur