Stem Cell Umbilical Cord Blood Market

Market Overview

The global stem cell umbilical cord blood market size was valued at USD 4908.42 million in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 19403.28 billion by 2031, growing with a CAGR of 16.5% during the forecast period (2023–2031).

The market segment for stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood is anticipated to expand in the near future. After pregnancy or childbirth, cord blood, a rich source of stem cells, is discarded; however, this blood has the potential to successfully treat chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, blood diseases, and immune disorders. Cord blood, a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells, is currently used to treat more than 80 genetic diseases. The investments by healthcare companies in the study and commercialization of cord blood stem cell therapies have increased due to various governments funded cord blood stem cell research and clinical trials. These stem cells are the only ones that can be stored under controlled circumstances due to their smaller volume and higher cell count.

Market Dynamics

What are the factors driving the market growth?

Diversification of Services

Many cord blood banks are introducing a new type of perinatal tissue stem cell storage services. These services include umbilical cord tissue, placental blood and tissue, chorion, and others. Furthermore, the rise in awareness and adoption of these services for cord tissue storage has enabled cord banks to expand their services; for instance, approximately two-thirds of private banks now offer these services. In addition, in September 2017, Americord Registry became the second US cord blood bank to launch the service of placental tissue banking. Internationally, several dozen cord blood banks offer placental blood and tissue banking. Globally, there are also banks like Life Cell International (India's largest cord blood bank) that offer storage for up to 10 different kinds of stem cells.

Treatment for Chronic Diseases

Many chronic diseases, including blood cancer, solid tumor cancer, cardiovascular disease, CNS disease, immune diseases, and other rare metabolic diseases, are treated with cord blood stem cells. Diseases that are not treated with conventional therapies or have some side effects are treated with combination stem cell therapy. Combine therapies are used in oncology treatment especially. For instance, in a treatment that helps to kill cancer cells, the patients are administered anti-cancer drugs after the transplant. These drugs help the patient to get rid of the cancer cells that may be in the body. The stem cell, in such cases, acts as a healing agent to recover the damage made by treatment doses. The rise in demand and awareness and ongoing R&D for developing vaccines against various diseases are expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period.

What are the factors restraining the market growth?

Legal and Ethical Issues During Collection

Maintaining ethical aspects in cord blood stem cell applications is difficult as the procedure includes people's emotional involvement. Key ethical issues are the destruction of human embryos for the derivation of stem cells. The human embryo is a human life that justifies its protection, making the extraction of embryonic stem cells unethical. Commercial banking and treatment centers operate for profit and do not follow an ethical code of conduct; hence malpractices of samples take place. These ethical concerns will restrain the overall market growth.

What are the future opportunities for the market?

Advancements in Therapeutic Applications

Treatment delivery through stem cells is costly; however, other associated processes, such as the collection and storage of cells, are made cost-effective. Therapeutic applications of stem cells need to be cost-effective to get more market coverage compared to conventional therapies. The stem cell market shows growing opportunity in therapeutics by decreasing the cost associated with treatment operations and monitoring. Similarly, the availability of treatment acts as a growing opportunity for the market.

Regional Analysis

The global market is divided into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA.

North America dominates the stem cell umbilical cord blood market, registering a CAGR of 16.3%. The stem cell umbilical cord blood is used to treat patients with cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. In North America, the healthcare system is critical to long-term economic stability for newborn stem cell banking. Diabetes was the highest contributor in the stem cell umbilical cord blood market. There are a number of experimental approaches being taken to attack the beta cells from the immune system. New cell-based therapies are being developed for diabetes and are being tested in clinical trials that comply with regulatory standards, such as those recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration. According to a research article published by the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in February 2020 on Regenerative Medicine, approximately 4 million births per year in the United States represent an essential source of regenerative cells for clinical applications from umbilical cord blood (UCB).

The European market for stem cell umbilical cord blood is growing with a CAGR of 15.6%. Stem cell research is one of the existing areas of research and has the potential to treat diseases, including degenerative diseases, for which few treatments currently exist. The major growth factor contributing to the growth of the stem cell umbilical cord blood market in Europe is the increasing adoption of stem cell storage services and further usage of these cells in applications such as regenerative medicine and transplant medicine. The increasing clinical applications of stem cells for the treatment of chronic diseases have enabled the need storage of these stem cells. Companies in Europe are providing other services such as genetic testing and fertility-assisted testing associated with stem cell storage services, and these can be further treatment. Also, increasing transplants of own stem cells that have been destroyed will drive the market during the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific offers lucrative opportunities for stem cell therapies because of extensive drug pipelines in cell-based therapies and a wide patient population. Asia Pacific area is projected to expand at a significant rate of 16.7%. Most Asian countries are revolutionizing the research in stem cells. Researchers and scientists have created a new opportunity to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and research. Although promising, stem cell research remains at a very early stage, and few human trials have taken place. But scientists are already excited about its potential impact on regenerative medicine. Increasing clinical trials that stem cells to cure many age-related diseases and delay aging. Medical researchers believe that it may soon be possible to use stem cells to treat diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, arthritis, and cancer, which are problematic in the developing world.

The LAMEA market is expected to grow at a significant rate due to an increase in awareness among people regarding stem cell umbilical cord blood storage. The market is likely to face new challenges with respect to costs of transplantation, donor availability, the number of centers of excellence, and trained personnel that need to be addressed for further development of this field in the region. The limited availability of services in this region will restrict the market growth.

Segmental Analysis

The stem cell umbilical cord blood market is segmented based on storage, therapeutics, and applications.

Based on storage, the market is divided into public storage, private storage, and hybrid storage.

The private cord blood banks dominate the market, registering a CAGR of 15.3%. Private cord blood banks store cord blood as per the planning of parents/donors. There is a fee structure associated with this service, and the cost associated is right from the collection of samples to their processing and storage. Private cord blood bank service is availed by people with a family history of some chronic, incurable diseases that can be treated only with stem cell therapies. Private cord blood banking is the only way of getting accurate matching of samples at the time of transfer. The bank stays responsible for storing, collecting, and supplying blood samples at the time of requirement.

Based on therapeutics, the market is segmented into cancer, diabetes, blood diseases, immune disorders, metabolic disorders, and others.

The diabetes segment is the largest contributor to the market, growing with a CAGR of 16.4%. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that increases blood glucose levels because of lower production of insulin or because the cell does not respond properly to insulin or both. Stem cells initiate the production of insulin from the pancreas thus, are used to treat diabetes. Stem cell therapy is an important biological treatment for all types of diabetes. Therefore, increasing application for the treatment of diabetes is anticipated to drive the stem cell umbilical cord blood market.

Based on applications, the stem cell umbilical cord blood market is segmented into transplant medicine and regenerative medicine.

The regenerative medicine segment dominates the market, growing with a CAGR of 15.6%. Regenerative medicine is the process of manufacturing cells, tissues, and organs, which are produced in in-vitro conditions, and these organs, cells, or tissues are transferred to patients for the replacement of damaged tissues into new tissues. Regenerative medicine therapies are used in the development of artificial organs inside the body by transferring stem cells collected from umbilical cord blood.

Recent Developments

• April 2021- MEDIPOST announced that it has established "IMMUNIQUE," a drug development company specializing in immune cell therapy derived from umbilical cord blood, and will begin developing immune cell therapy through this company.
• October 2022- Americord Registry, a leader in the cord blood industry, has added exosome banking to their family-focused services, becoming the first private biobanking company in the US to do so.