Today, cord blood banks exist in every developed country, as well as within most developing nations. With approximately 450 companies marketing cord blood banking services worldwide, maturation of the market means that each company is fighting harder for market share. While the U.S. cord blood banking industry is the most mature cord blood banking market in the world, Asia is extremely close behind and growing more quickly than the U.S. market.
In 2016, Sanpower Group and its subsidiary Nanjing Cenbest announced the acquisition of China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE:CO) and Shandong Cord Blood Bank, positioning it to hold four licenses out of the only seven issued provincial-level cord blood bank licenses in China. According to the company, Sanpower Group has “reserved 800,000 cord blood samples at home, and the associated reserves nearly amount to 1,100,000 when counting in the Cordlife reserves across various Southeast Asian countries and regions.”[1]
This positions Sanpower Group and its subsidiary Nanjing Cenbest as the world’s largest cord blood banking operator not only in China and Southeast Asia, but in the world.
Currently, the largest cord blood bank in the United States, Cord Blood Registry, reports to have nearly 700,000 cord blood and tissue units in storage, positioning it substantially behind Sanpower Group. Within China, Sanpower Group reports to control approximately 800,000 cord blood samples. Therefore, Sanpower Group leads CBR by 100,000 units, or 14.2% (800,000 / 700,000 = 1.142), respectively. With CBR controlling more than 50% of the market share in the U.S. and Sanpower Group controlling more than 50% of the market share in China, these two entities are the largest cord blood operators in the world.
Other regions have witnessed major events as well. In 2008, a Taiwanese company, HealthBanks Biotech Company Ltd. became the first company to offer cord tissue storage. It was not until July 2010 that the first private U.S. cord blood bank began offering the service (Cord Blood Registry). Since then, the trend of cord tissue storage has had a major impact on the cord blood banking industry, with a large percentage of cord blood banks offering the service worldwide.
In China, the government shocked the industry by announcing that only one cord blood bank would be allowed to operate within each province, and official government support, authorization, and permits would be required.
In Italy and France, it is illegal to privately store one’s cord blood, which has fully eliminated the potential for a private market to exist within the region.
In Ecuador, the government is now creating the first public cord blood bank and has instituted laws such that private cord blood banks cannot approach women about private cord blood banking options during the first six months of pregnancy. This created a crisis for the private banks, and there are now only two remaining in Ecuador.
Most recently, the Indian Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) banned commercial banking of stem cells from most biological materials, including cord tissue, placenta, dental pulp stem cells, and more. Only umbilical cord blood banking is “permitted and licensed” within the country.
Clearly, it is vital to understand market dynamics and risks, as well as the emerging opportunities, within different regions of the world.
To learn more, view the “Complete 2017-18 Global Cord Blood Banking Industry Report.”
Footnotes
[1] Xinhongru, P. (2017). Biomedicine_Sanpower Healthcare_Core Industries_The Sanpower Group. [online] En.sanpowergroup.com. Available at: http://en.sanpowergroup.com/content/details_38_1474.html [Accessed 8 Oct. 2017].