UK stem cell banking pioneer wins 2010 Queen's Award
The UK's first accredited private cord blood bank, which has pioneered the collection and long-term cryogenic storage of stem cells from umbilical cords since 2002, has now become the first such company to win a prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise.
East Midlands-based Future Health Technologies Ltd, which started operating eight years ago, was the first UK-based family cord blood bank to receive full accreditation as a human tissue bank from the MHRA in 2004.
The company has since seen its business grow by 138 per cent in 3 years as the practice of saving and storing the cord blood - and now cord tissue - has grown in popularity in line with increasing evidence of the power of stem cells to heal and repair.
In recent years cord blood has been recognised as one of the richest sources of stem cells which are the building blocks of life. These stem cells (Hematopoietic Stem Cells) can already be used to treat over 85 different medical conditions of the blood and immune system. In addition stem cells in the cord tissue (Mesenchymal Stem Cells of MSCs) are now being shown to have even greater potential in the field of regenerative medicine as they have the ability to form bone, cartilage, tendon and muscle. Preclinical studies in the treatment of conditions such as complex bone fractures and cartilage repair are well-advanced and human clinical trials should be happening within the next 10 years.
Umbilical cord stem cells are a 100 per cent match for the donor, but also a close match for a sibling and a probable match for the parents. Thousands of parents around the world are therefore acknowledging the potential of these stem cells and making a positive decision to store them for their children and close family for initial terms of 20 years.
Future Health has benefited from this trend and the Queen's Award recognises the company's contribution to international trade as 95 per cent of the company's business comes from abroad.
From a handful of enquiries at the start, the company now handles more than 2500 enquiries per month through its UK and 17 affiliate offices and currently stores over 30,000 samples from some 43 different countries around the world in its state-of-the-art facilities.
The growth in overseas business enabled Future Health to expand its facilities in 2009 and the company now occupies a 13,000 square foot site, including specialised clinical laboratories and cryogenic storage tank rooms. In fact its facilities are of such a high standard that overseas competitors are asking the company to provide processing and storage on their behalf.
In 2009 the company's top four markets were: Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. UK business is increasing following the launch of the country's first dual cord blood and cord tissue service in late 2009. However, the UK continues to be 'behind the curve' versus other countries, such as the USA, where pregnant women are routinely informed about cord blood options well before the birth. In the UK, the majority of cords are thrown away at delivery; only five NHS hospitals take donations for the public cord blood bank and other hospitals can individually decide their policy on facilitating private cord blood collection.
Roger Dainty, Director of Future Health said: "We are delighted to have received a prestigious Queen's Award - not only to mark the impressive growth we have achieved but also to highlight stem cell banking as a valued and valuable UK industry. We very much hope that our international success will soon be replicated in the domestic market as we believe that all pregnant women should have the right to decide what happens to their baby's cord. We estimate that only a small number cord blood samples are saved each year for public donation or private storage. However significant change is unlikely until there is a more uniformly positive attitude to cord collection in hospitals which will enable women to make an informed decision about whether to donate, store or discard the umbilical cord."