Virgin Health Bank (VHB), headquartered at Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), has been rated as one of the top 10 global cord blood banks by the World Cord Blood Congress 2013.
“To understand the significance of this in the industry, out of 510 globally listed cord blood banks in 97 countries, Virgin Health Bank was recognised as an international innovator in the industry,” VHB’s chief executive officer Chris Goodman told Gulf Times.
“This is both an honour for Virgin Health Bank and the State of Qatar. It draws attention to the fact that Qatar is now an important location for human cellular and tissue based-products,” he stated in an interview.
The World Cord Blood Congress is a platform for private and public cord blood banks, pharma, biotechs, academia and governments to debate advances in cord blood banking and therapeutics. It is the only commercial cord blood banking and therapy conference.
This year, it chose the top 10 global cord blood banks based on newsworthiness, profitability, and innovation within business models and marketing strategies. The conference will take place on September 30 and October 1 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the US.
“While part of this recognition is in the innovation of our operations, in the past, we have also been singled out and recognised for the clarity and honesty behind our education and consenting processes. We are known for our ethics and the quality of the work that we do,” Goodman observed.
VHB has been lauded for its founder, billionaire Richard Branson’s personal commitment to donate all proceeds from VHB to the Virgin Group to initiatives that are helping to fully realise the potential of cord blood stem cells.
“VHB was developed to meet the needs of families in Qatar who are considering banking their baby’s cord blood stem cells and want the support of an ethically-motivated organisation committed to delivering high quality service,” Goodman pointed out.
“Indeed, VHB is a unique company because our focus is not on money, but on education and awareness. We are a very community minded organisation and our focus is on the promotion of education and awareness of cord blood and stem cells and how these stem cells can help families. We empower families with the knowledge and resources so that they can make truly informed decisions about storing their baby’s cord blood stem cells. We do this by providing parents with accurate and honest information and do not pressure them into buying our services.”
Cord blood stem cells are considered one of the most exciting areas of development within medical science. Currently there are over 80 diseases for which stem cells can provide a cure. These include blood disorders such as Beta Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia and cancers of the blood and immune system such as leukaemias and lymphomas.
VHB has been collecting transplant quality cord blood cells for families in Qatar since September 2009. Initially it used its UK facilities for processing and storage, but started banking at its state-of-the-art stem cell processing and cryogenic storage facility at QSTP in August 2011.
The VHB laboratory in Qatar is built to exceed current international regulatory standards and capable of storing over 50,000 individual stem cell units. It is the first cryo-preservation facility for human cells and tissue in the country.
VHB, which works with Hamad Medical Corporation’s Women’s Hospital, Al Ahli Hospital, Doha Clinic and Al Emadi Hospital, has banked hundreds of cord blood stem cell units after starting its Qatar operations. Cord blood collection will also be started at Hamad Medical Corporation’s Al Khor and Al Wakrah hospitals soon.
Goodman, who joined VHB in 2010 as director of Operations, became chief operating officer last year and is now the chief executive officer for the company. He nearly two decades of extensive regulatory, quality, cellular and biopharmaceutical experience.
Goodman has previously held senior positions in the US in areas including tissue diagnostics, cellular therapeutics, cord blood stem cell banking and human cytogenetics.
He directed divisional operations and medical affairs and led business and scientific strategic planning.
Goodman is also a regulatory inspector and assessor for international regulatory agencies and is the Designated Individual for VHB under the UK Human Tissue Authority.