The Be The Match BioTherapies Cord Blood Bank Alliance will work to grow the use of cord blood as a starting material to advance the development of live-saving cell therapies.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. July 10, 2023 — In recognition of Cord Blood Awareness Month, Be The Match BioTherapies®, an organization offering solutions for companies developing and commercializing cell and gene therapies, today announced the formation of the Be The Match BioTherapies Cord Blood Bank Alliance (CBBA). The CBBA, will build awareness about the benefits of cord blood as an allogeneic cell source in cell therapy while expanding and simplifying access to fully characterized Cord Blood Units (CBUs) for researchers and developers working on emerging cell therapies.

“Cord blood is an abundantly available biologic resource with a proven safety profile that can be leveraged to develop critical, life-saving cell therapies,” said Heather Stefanski, MD PhD, Vice President Medical Services, National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP)/Be The Match®. “As a global leader in cell therapy, we are proud to lead the CBBA as it works to expand the use of cord blood in the advancement of cell therapy that will ultimately save more lives.”

The Be The Match BioTherapies CBBA brings together leading cord blood banks with decades of experience managing the development, production and distribution of allogeneic products in a regulated environment. Initially, the CBBA includes eight NMDP/Be The Match member banks that have demonstrated commitment to serving the needs of patients and providing high quality cord blood units for the development and commercialization of emerging cell and gene therapies. Members include Bloodworks Northwest, the Cleveland Cord Blood Center, Cord for Life, the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank, Vitalant, South Texas Blood & Tissue, Versiti, and StemCyte.

“We are proud to be among the inaugural members of the CBBA,” said Marcie Finney, Executive Director, Cleveland Cord Blood Center. “The opportunities presented by this alliance will advance research into a wide array of blood and immune disorders, using this important but often over-looked resource.”

Be The Match BioTherapies will act as the single point of contact for contracting and quality system engagement between researchers and developers seeking therapy matched CBUs, and cord blood banks. It will provide visibility into the Be The Match Registry of 270,000 clinical grade, fully characterized CBUs in domestic banks, and manage the logistics to ensure CBUs are delivered to developers when needed.

Be The Match was selected by the US government to operate as the nation’s Cord Blood Coordinating Center as authorized by the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, as amended. In this role, the organization works with public cord blood banks, doctors and researchers to continually improve cord blood transplantation and educate medical professionals and the public. This work expanded the organization’s deep relationships with cord blood banks and positioned it to take a leadership role in creating the CBBA.

About Be The Match BioTherapies

Be The Match BioTherapies is the only cell and gene therapy solutions provider with customizable services to support the end-to-end cell therapy supply chain. Backed by the industry-leading experience of the National Marrow Donor Program^®/Be The Match^® and a research partnership with the CIBMTR^® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research^®), the organization designs solutions that advance the development of cell and gene therapies across the globe.

Be The Match BioTherapies is dedicated to accelerating patient access to life-saving cell and gene therapies by providing high-quality cell source material from the Be The Match Registry^®, the world’s most diverse registry of more than 7 million potential blood stem cell donors. Through established relationships with apheresis, marrow collection, and transplant centers worldwide, the organization develops, onboards, trains, and manages expansive collection networks to advance cell therapies. Be The Match BioTherapies uses a proven infrastructure consisting of regulatory compliance and managed logistics experts and cell therapy supply chain case managers to successfully transport and deliver regulatory-compliant life-saving therapies across the globe. Through the CIBMTR, Be The Match BioTherapies extends services beyond the cell therapy supply chain to include long-term follow-up tracking for FDA-approved CAR-T therapies.

For more information, visit www.BeTheMatchBioTherapies.com or follow Be The Match BioTherapies on LinkedIn or Twitter. 

Media Contacts: 

Bonnie Quintanilla, bonnie@clarityqst.com 

Phyllis Grabot, phyllis@clarityqst.com 

(877) 887-7611