Vita 34

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Vita 34 AG

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN DE000A0BL849
founding 1997
Seat Leipzig , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management
  • Wolfgang Knirsch, CEO
  • Falk Neukirch, CFO
Number of employees 123 (December 31, 2018)
sales 20.4 million euros (2018)
Branch Pharmaceutical industry
Website www.vita34.de
As of December 31, 2018

The Vita 34 AG is a pharmaceutical company based in Leipzig , which is the largest private umbilical cord blood bank with approximately 215,000 stem cell depots including 5,000 donation preparations in Germany operates (September 2015). Vita 34 AG has been listed on the stock exchange since March 27, 2007 . The company's name is derived from the Latin vita (life) and CD34 , a marker for blood stem cells .

Corporate development

Vita 34 was founded on April 28, 1997 as VITA 34 Gesellschaft für Zelltransplantate mbH and received approval as a pharmaceutical manufacturer. According to its own information, it is the first umbilical cord blood bank in Europe. In 2002 the name was changed to Vita 34 AG (legal successor). Vita 34 is a registered word / figurative mark of Vita 34 AG. In the following year the company moved to the BIO CITY Leipzig , where a " glass laboratory " was established, which allows interested parties an insight into the manufacturing process.

On 1 January 2004, has been holding VITA 34 International AG founded and was followed by the entry to the US market, along with the in Philadelphia -based American Cord Blood Bank Cor-Cell, Inc. The Vita 34 AG held two-thirds of the shares Cor-Cell . Cor-Cell was the first company in the US to receive a state license to store umbilical cord blood preparations. The corporate losses in 2005 and 2006 resulted from losses of the American holding partner Cor-Cell . However, Cor-Cell's new customer business was sold again on October 1, 2006, the existing business in February 2007, so that today the entire operational business is handled by Vita 34 AG .

In 2005, an umbilical cord blood preparation previously stored at Vita 34 was used in Germany for the first time.

VITA 34 International AG went public in March 2007, and the company has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since March 27.

In May 2010, Vita 34 acquired the majority in the Spanish distributor Secuvitia SL, the previous exclusive sales partner of Vita 34 in Spain. The Vita 34 AG and now holds a 88% stake in the Spanish company.

The operational subsidiary Vita 34 AG was merged with the parent company Vita 34 International AG in 2011 and has operated exclusively under the name Vita 34 AG since then .

In 2012 Vita 34 AG introduced a new, barrier-free registry for umbilical cord blood stem cells: www.stemcellsearch.org. The online platform enables free research for suitable donor preparations at Vita 34. In the same year, the Leipzig biotechnology specialist BioPlanta was taken over and merged with Vita 34 AG. BioPlanta boss André Gerth was appointed to the board of Vita 34. BioPlanta GmbH focused on the production of plant-based active ingredients for the environmental and pharmaceutical sectors. As early as 2011, Vita 34 AG worked with BioPlanta GmbH on a research project to develop a production process for antifreeze proteins in plant bioreactors and their application in the cold preservation of stem cells.

At the end of 2012, Vita 34 moved into the new BioCube building complex, right next to BioCity Leipzig. The warehouse located there has a capacity for 350,000 preparations.

Since March 2013, in addition to the collection of umbilical cord blood, it has also been possible to store umbilical cord tissue. In this one finds the type of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), which z. B. can create new connective tissue, cartilage and bones in particularly large quantities.

In mid-2015, the Leipzig biotech company took over shares in the Serbian partner Bio Save and the cooperation partner Imunolita from Lithuania. In September the acquisition of the Danish cord blood bank StemCare was announced. In the summer of 2017, Vita 34 took over the Rostock-based Seracell provider for around 14 million euros, thereby increasing the market concentration for commercial storage in Germany.

Corporate earnings
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Sales in million euros 10.23 11.56 15.43 14.96 15.10 16.96 16.00 13.60 13.55 13.79 14.17
EBITDA in million euros 1.455 0.796 −0.428 −1.826 0.739 1.687 0.638 0.414 2.658 2.775 3,895
Profit in million euros −1.919 −2.866 −1.185 −1.71 0.60 0.35 1.19 −0.61 0.79 0.99 1.70

With 215,000 stored preparations (as of October 2018), Vita 34 AG is the largest private umbilical cord blood bank in Germany. The corporation is based in Leipzig and has 100 employees (March 2017). In 2014, the company achieved sales of EUR 13.8 million and an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 2.8 million.

management

The executive board of Vita 34 AG consists of two members: Wolfgang Knirsch (CEO) and Falk Neukirch (CFO). The Supervisory Board currently has four members. The chairman of the supervisory board is Frank Köhler, and Steffen Richtscheid and Gerrit Witschaß as well as Mariola Söhngen are also members of the supervisory board.

The main shareholders are founders and management with 16.5%, HSCI OJSC with 11.2% and Axxion SA with 3.3% (September 2015).

Field of activity

BioCube next to BIO CITY Leipzig - headquarters of Vita 34 AG

Vita 34 AG deals with the extraction, processing and long-term preservation of stem cells from umbilical cord blood and tissue.

The so-called sibling initiative has existed since 2002: parents have the option of free storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells from a newborn in the case of a seriously ill sibling.

In 2007 Vita 34 AG expanded its range of services with VitaPlusSpende. The tissue-specific characteristics of the stem cell preparation are anonymized and transmitted to a public stem cell register with the consent of the parents and are thus available to potentially ill recipients. If the donation is requested via the stem cell register, the parents can decide whether to approve the donation and, in this case, will be reimbursed for the storage costs. Vita 34 offers this donation option in almost every maternity hospital in Germany.

In 2013, Vita 34 AG expanded its range to include the storage of umbilical cord tissue rich in stem cells. The umbilical cord mainly contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). These cells are able to produce connective tissue, cartilage and bones, among other things.

Regulatory approvals and permits

Vita 34 AG has all the necessary official approvals and certifications, such as the production license for umbilical cord blood as autologous and foreign blood, approval for use in blood diseases and for the use of the first European type 1 diabetes study. The approvals also apply to global distribution, for example for therapies in the USA. As the only German umbilical cord blood bank, Vita 34 AG is approved by the German Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Medicines ( Paul Ehrlich Institute ) for the manufacture and distribution of allogeneic preparations. Vita 34 AG has its own laboratory with state accreditation for the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) production of stem cell preparations. Vita 34 AG has had this permit since 1997. In 2012, Vita 34 AG developed the world's first process with which the entire umbilical cord can be stored. Vita 34 is the only company in Germany that fulfills the official requirements to store umbilical cord tissue for the production of stem cell preparations.

Applications of umbilical cord blood

At Vita 34, processed umbilical cord blood has been used both in research and in clinical practice. So far, the blood stored at Vita 34 AG has been used 30 times according to its own information. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood are in great demand in many areas of regenerative medicine .

Research engagement and collaborations

Vita 34 AG participates in studies in stem cell research together with research institutions and universities. Currently 284 clinical studies are registered worldwide that deal with the transplantation of umbilical cord blood with specific areas of application. This also includes the following studies in which Vita 34 AG is involved:

In 2012 Vita 34 AG u. a. two additional research projects. On the one hand, Vita 34 AG, in cooperation with the Department of Hematology at the University of Leipzig, is investigating the effectiveness of mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord in blood stem cell transplants in leukemia treatment. The aim is to suppress the life-threatening immune reaction of foreign tissue against one's own tissue ( graft-versus-host disease ). The mesenchymal stem cells are obtained from the umbilical cord tissue . In addition, Vita 34 AG is currently developing vitality markers for quality assurance in cryopreserved plants in biobanks.

International business

In addition to Germany, Vita 34 AG is active in 20 countries through sales partners and subsidiaries. a. in Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. There are also commitments in Chile, Vietnam and Mexico to set up regional umbilical cord blood banks. Vita 34 AG provides the cooperation partners with process know-how. The cooperation partners are certified and trained.

public perception

Like all private umbilical cord blood banks, Vita 34 is faced with the challenge of objectively informing interested parties and the public about treatment options using stem cells from umbilical cord blood - highlighting opportunities and at the same time reflecting on the current state of research. In an investigative parenting guide in autumn 2011, two journalists revealed that Vita34 was operating covertly pseudo-independent websites and even writing journalists under false names in order to create the appearance of independent reporting. Spiegel Online reported this, including further evidence for this controversial PR practice, in an article dated December 26, 2011.

The glass laboratory

In 2003 Vita 34 AG opened the first glass stem cell laboratory in the BIO CITY Leipzig. Anyone interested has the opportunity to visit the GMP high-tech laboratory or take part in a guided tour. The process up to the cryopreservation of the stem cell preparations is shown. The laboratory can also be seen on the Internet with a 360-degree image.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange ( Memento of the original dated September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / deutsche-boerse.com
  2. ↑ a b Annual Report 2018. (pdf) In: vita34.de. Retrieved November 6, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Press release of May 16, 2012  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / ir.vita34.de  
  4. ^ Frank Johannsen: Vita 34 takes Rostock low-cost suppliers off the market. In: LVZ.de (Leipziger Volkszeitung). August 11, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Vita 34: Final spurt in the takeover of Seracell - share with record high . ( deraktionaer.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Corporate profits at onvista.com
  7. ↑ Annual Report 2015 ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of Vita 24 AG @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ir.vita34.de
  8. ^ J. Jobst: Vita 34 - The largest stem cell bank in Germany. In: Kigorosa.de. Roman Safreider, September 26, 2018, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Julia Heilmann, Thomas Lindemann: Babybeschiss. How parents are dragged across the changing table . Hoffmann and Campe, 2011, pp. 33–42.
  10. ↑ Dubious Healing Methods: How to Do Business With Parental Fear . Mirror online
  11. ↑ The Glass Laboratory