Cord Blood America Inks China Stem Cell Deal

Cord Blood America Inc (CBAI), a firm engaged in umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation, said that it has signed a license and cooperation agreement for the processing and storage of umbilical cord blood in China with AXM Pharma.

According to the former, the license agreement terms include that the latter will provide the equipment, facilities and personnel in China that are necessary for business operations and will market the service in that nation.

The former said that the latter owns six buildings totaling more than 200,000 square feet on its 13-acre biotech campus in Shenyang, China, dedicated for this venture. Cord believes the deal creates the world's largest cord blood bank, with a capacity of more than two million samples to start.

AXM Pharma also has over 200 employees and 20 distributors to support plans for a rapid ramp up of the cord blood stem cell business. Cord Blood said it will grant to AXM a license to use its proprietary technology and know-how for the processing and storage of cord blood and the former will provide consulting and training. In return, the former will receive a 10 percent equity stake in latter’s stem cell subsidiary and an 8.5 percent royalty for all cord blood sales.

As part of the license, Matthew L Schissler, Cord Blood America co-founder and CEO, has been appointed to the board of AXM Pharma. The companies plan on the lab to begin processing stem cell samples by January 1, 2011, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.