The cord blood units to be provided to Nohla are ones that are unlikely to be promising for use in transplantation, because of a lower Total Nucleated Cell (TNC) count within the units. According to Nohla Therapeutics, “With the rising Total Nucleated Cell (TNC) count requirements desired by transplant centers, the majority of banked units may never be used for clinical transplantation due to their lower dosage.”
Therefore, there is mutual benefit to LifeSouth Community Blood Centers and Nohla Therapeutics in the agreement, because LifeSouth will get a predictable revenue stream, while Nohla will get acess to high-quality cord blood units processed in a FACT accredited, FDA licensed cord blood manufacturing facility.
LifeSouth represents an excellent supply partner for Nohla Therapeutics, because of its credentials and long history. LifeSouth Community Blood Centers is a regional blood network that operates collection centers across Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Additionally, its cord blood banking program “LifeCord” is FACT accredited, FDA licensed (2013), and has been collecting and processing cord blood units since in 1998. As of 2016, it now collects 8,000+ cord blood units annually from a dozen partner hospitals in spread across its operating states.
As stated within the Nohla’s recent announcement, “The agreement between LifeSouth and Nohla allows LifeSouth to generate revenue and recoup some of its banking costs while providing Nohla with fully qualified cord blood units for pooling as starting material for the Company’s expanded cellular therapy programs.”
To learn more, click here to view the full press release issued by Nohla Therapeutics.