Singapore-based healthcare company Cordlife Group has invested S$8.4m ($6m) in cord lining stem cell specialist CellResearch Corporation (CRC), also based in Singapore, as an extension of an existing strategic alliance.
Cordlife will supply half of the financing in the form of a three-year convertible note, while the remaining S$4.2m will structured as an equity investment.
The companies forged the partnership in 2010 to work on an umbilical cord lining banking service utilising CRC’s technology to harvest stem cells from the amniotic membrane of the umbilical cord. The funds will be used to further clinical development of the advance wound healing technology.
Jeremy Yee, executive director and chief executive of Cordlife, said: “This investment not only aligns the strategic interest between Cordlife and CRC, but also significantly enhances Cordlife’s clinical and quality assurance capacity as we are able to leverage on reputable research institutions and top-notch research facilities.”
Gavin Tan, CRC’s chief executive, added: “Together with Cordlife and our clinical development partners, we are accelerating the development of the Global Cord Registry and CRC’s stem cell technology to benefit patients, customers and the broader medical community.”