WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC), the healthcare services company focused on providing stem cell services and ground-breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, has today announced that the UK’s Human Tissue Authority (“HTA”) has awarded its 100% owned subsidiary, WideCells Ltd, a Human Application Licence. This licence permits WideCells Ltd to import, export, process, store and distribute for treatment, umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue from the UK and Europe in its state of the art facilities at the Institute of Stem Cell Technology in Manchester, UK.
This transformational milestone licence enables the Group, under its brand name BabyCells, to offer umbilical cord blood and tissue storage services to clients in the UK and Europe. BabyCells will be charged at a cost of circa £2,000 per sample for one year’s storage (including collection and processing), with recurring storage revenues of £50-£75 per annum thereafter and alternative multi-year pre-paid storage plans. Clients of BabyCells will be offered one year’s stem cell insurance cover, provided by the Group’s CellPlan division.
WideCells Group Plc CEO, João Andrade, said, “The granting of this licence from the HTA marks a significant step in the Group’s end-to-end stem cell service solution. WideCells Group can now store and process umbilical cord blood and tissue, provide financial cover and support for associated treatment through our innovative CellPlan insurance product, and support development and medical advancement within the industry through both our research work, and our education and training division Wideacademy. This licence enables us to leverage further our significant industry contacts and market presence to position our state of the art facility in Manchester as a leading stem cell storage bank. The Group is now positioned to focus on revenue generation from all three of our divisions.”
