The Market for Stem Cell Biobanking and Storage - Size, Segments, and Trends

Purpose of Report:  The purpose of this global strategic report is to prepare executives, company management, and industry investors with the data and knowledge necessary to make informed, educated decisions about commercial opportunities within the stem cell biobanking market.

This global strategic report is produced for:

• Executives of Industrial-Scale Biobanks


• Management of Stem Cell Product Companies


• Management of Stem Cell Therapy Companies


• Biobanking Industry Investors

• Effectively pricing stem cell biobanking services


• Increasing revenue from stem cell biobanking services


• Identifying new or adjunct stem cell biobanking services to offer


• Identifying current market leaders within the stem cell biobanking market


• Characterizing the competitive environment for the stem cell biobanking market


• Identifying threats and opportunities within the stem cell biobanking market


• Acquiring greater market within the stem cell biobanking market


• Making intelligent investment decisions within the stem cell biobanking market

Stem cells are primitive cells found in all multi-cellular organisms that are characterized by self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate into mature cell types.  Stem cells are still a relatively new discovery, as the first mouse embryonic stem cells were derived from embryos in 1981, but it was not until 1995 that the first culturing of embryonic stem cells from non-human primates occurred. Induced pluripotent stem cells were not produced until 2006.  As a result of these discoveries, stem cells can now be derived at various points during the life cycles.

The following are stages during which stem cells can be derived:

• Embryonic stem cells, derived from blastocysts


• Fetal stem cells, obtained from fetuses


• Post-natal stem cells derived from newborn tissues, including cord blood stem cells from umbilical tissue


• Adult stem cells found in adult tissues, including hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and neural stem cells


• Induced pluripotent stem cells, reprogrammed from adult cells


• Cancer stem cells, which give rise to clonal populations of cells that form tumors or disperse in the body


• And more

Stem cell research and experimentation is largely driven by the unique ability of stem cells to divide and replicate repeatedly. In addition, their “unspecialized” nature allows them to differentiate into a wide variety of specialized cell types. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells.

Therefore, the possibilities arising from these characteristics have resulted in great commercial interest, with potential applications ranging from the use of stem cells in reversal and treatment of disease, to targeted cell therapy, tissue regeneration, pharmacological testing on cell-specific tissues, and more. Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and spinal cord injuries are examples of conditions for which clinical applications involving stem cells could offer benefits in halting or even reversing adverse effects.

However, to have stem cells easily accessible for research purposes and clinical applications requires them to be preserved in stable, temperature controlled conditions.  For this reason, a substantial market has evolved for the biobanking of tissues containing stem cell populations and the storage of stem cells themselves.

Stem Cell Biobanking Market

Stem cell biobanking is the cryogenic storage of stem cells, or biological samples containing stem cells, for later use. The market for these services is known as the “Stem Cell Biobanking Market.” Because stem cell biobanking often involves the long-term storage of stem cell samples, the market is sometimes is also known as the “Stem Cell Storage Market.” For purposes of this analysis, these two terms are considered to be synonymous. A definition of this market is provided below.

Stem Cell Biobanking Market:  The stem cell biobanking market is defined as the total annual revenue derived from the storage of:

• Stem cell lines and their derivatives


• All biological samples that were collected specifically because they contain stem cell populations (e.g. cord blood, adipose tissue, and more)

Currently, the four leading providers of biobanking services are: Fisher Bioservices, Biostorage Technologies, EPL Archives, and Precision Bioservices. All four companies store millions of biological samples (15 million by Precision Bioservices, up to 170 million by Fisher Bioservices) and provide a diverse set of biobanking services. All but Precision Biosciences are multi-national companies with both U.S. and European operations.  Because each company has  large market share within the stem cell biobanking market, they are explored in detail within this report.

However, there are also companies specializing exclusively in stem cell storage.  In one landmark event, Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) and the Coriell Institute for Medical Research announced receiving multi-million dollar grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for the creation of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from 3,000 healthy and diseased donors.  CIRM awarded CDI $16 million to create three iPSC lines for each of 3,000 healthy and diseased donors and awarded the Coriell Institute $10 million to set up and biobank the iPSC lines. The result will be thecreation of the world’s largest human iPSC bank, an incredible feat.

This iPSC biobank is one example of the expanding market for stem cell biobanking services. Because the goal of stem cell biobanking is to create a repository of stem cell specimens – including source tissue from which stem cells can be derived, differentiated cell types produced, and disease-specific cell lines created – large-scale stem cell biobanks provide researchers with the opportunity to investigate a diverse range of conditions using stem cells derived from both healthy and diseased donors. Importantly, biobanks can greatly expand the capacity for global research and collaboration.

Key report findings include:

• Current Size of the Stem Cell Biobanking Market


• Trailing 5-Year Market Size Data (2011-2015)


• 5-year Market Size Projections (2016-2020)


• Market Segmentation


• Market Share by Segment


• Key Industry Leaders


• Detailed Competitive Environment Analysis


• Analysis of Stem Cell Storage Applications (End-Uses)


• Number of Stem Cell Samples Banked, by Industry Leader


• Identification of  Opportunities within the Stem Cell Biobanking Market


• And Much More