World first stem cell insurance plan, CellPlan, secures maiden sales agreement signaling commencement of commercial roll out.
Highlights
- Ground-breaking agreement facilitates the first sales of CellPlan to Biovault’s customer base of cord blood bankers
- Biovault has more than 25,000 cord blood samples stored since its inception, including samples from affiliates
- Launch of CellPlan to UK Biovault customers planned for Q1 2017 with roll out to other selected European markets and the Middle-East to be phased on an ongoing basis
- CellPlan has delivered a proposed marketing strategy to Biovault to ensure the effective roll out of its innovative insurance product
- Biovault’s stringent quality standards is what attracted CellPlan to approach them and Biovault is now a member of CellPlan’s Excel Membership Programme, which is focused on maintaining operating excellence within the stem cell industry
- Agreement in line with growth strategy to partner with stem cell storage facilities to rapidly leverage the compelling market opportunity for CellPlan – 3,000,000 cord blood samples are held in storage in 500 cord blood banks across the world and this is increasing by 250,000 samples per year
WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, “With the signing of this definitive agreement with an influential player in the stem cell storage sector, one that is operating to the highest quality standards, the stage is now set for an exciting first quarter of 2017, which will be characterised by first sales of CellPlan. We anticipate uptake to be solid, given that CellPlan solves a critical problem in that currently 3 million people around the world store their baby’s stem cells, although are generally unaware that if funding responsibility falls to them, a stem cell treatment can cost up to £300,000, making it unaffordable for the clear majority. Importantly, the number of families storing stem cells, and therefore the market for CellPlan, is growing strongly and we believe this growth will accelerate following the launch of our product, which is designed to make stem cell treatment affordable to all.
“WideCells Group aims to be a pioneering force within the stem cell arena and CellPlan, which is a first of its kind healthcare product for families, is the product of years of careful planning. We are therefore very excited to put our marketing plans into practice, by conducting a phased roll out to Biovault customers firstly in the UK, before reaching out to additional targets. This news also demonstrates our ability to deliver promptly on the milestones set out on listing just 5 months ago. We look forward to providing updates regarding our relationship with Biovault, as well as other stem cell storage facilities with which we are in discussions, over the coming weeks and months.”
Definitive Agreement between CellPlan and Biovault
Under the terms of the agreement between CellPlan and Biovault, Biovault will promote exclusively the sale and marketing of CellPlan to its existing and future customers. CellPlan will pay Biovault a commission based on gross premiums. The agreement does not restrict CellPlan from signing additional agreements with further stem cell storage facilities.
Marketing Plans for CellPlan to Biovault Customers
CellPlan has delivered a market roll-out plan to Biovault, which provides an outline of the development and implementation of the marketing strategies between CellPlan and Biovault. The activities required to be undertaken ahead of the launch to UK customers in Q1 2017 are now underway and CellPlan has delivered a detailed timeline in respect to these to ensure that responsibilities and requirements are clearly understood and allocated.
CellPlan’s role is to support and further develop Biovault’s marketing efforts through its cord blood storage facility, called Biovault Family, and to provide them with strategies, assets and necessary training for the sale of CellPlan non-insurance component products, and endorsement of CellPlan insurance products. To achieve this, CellPlan’s marketing department will, in collaboration with Biovault, build on existing frameworks, always respecting regulatory laws and brand guidelines where applicable, and address sales objectives to maximise market penetration and revenues.
As the founding partner of CellPlan Excel Membership Programme, Biovault customers will be the focus of the CellPlan product launch which, due to the high level accreditation of Biovault and the comprehensive cover of CellPlan products, has the potential to increase the two brands’ value. By partnering commercial efforts, the two organisations further ensure their positioning in the stem cell market as industry leaders.
The proposed plan includes a mix of marketing channels and tools, and focuses on engaging with a Biovault Family customer at strategic points throughout their customer journey, as well as commercial activities such as sponsorships, training, social media and trade fairs participation.
Biovault existing customers will be contacted to purchase CellPlan. New customers that enquire through Biovault’s website will be targeted through digital mailings that will range from a mix of standard and special campaigns. For each mailing strategy CellPlan will suggest the target segmentation variables and Biovault will send key performance indicator reports that will enable CellPlan to determine the success of each campaign. New customers who are channelled to Biovault through doctor referral will be targeted through Biovaults’ team using CellPlan provided marketing tools.
Launch Schedule
Launch in the market is to happen through a trial to take place in the UK during the first quarter of 2017. Following the launch, success will be assessed, with adjustments to the marketing roll out plan being made as appropriate.
Biovault’s and CellPlan’s indicative strategic approach is to then launch in a selection of other European locations and the Middle East during 2017.
For each affiliate and market, CellPlan will adjust the market roll out strategy to best accommodate each associate business model and customer journey.
New Corporate Website
A new corporate website for CellPlan has been launched, and is available to view at www.cellplan.com. Further updates to the website to incorporate e-commerce functionality are due to be made in the coming weeks with a final version of the website due to be live by the end of Q1 2017.
Source: WideCells Group PLC
Learn more:
View our recent interview with Joao Andrea, CEO of WideCells, titled “Unlocking the Future of Cord Blood Banking.”