Comments on: Some thoughts about clinical-grade cord blood hematopoietic stem cell expansion http://hematopoiesis.info/2010/02/01/some-thoughts-about-clinical-grade-cord-blood-hematopoietic-stem-cell-expansion/ Blood Stem Cell & Lineages Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:58:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Alex http://hematopoiesis.info/2010/02/01/some-thoughts-about-clinical-grade-cord-blood-hematopoietic-stem-cell-expansion/comment-page-1/#comment-12298 Alex Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:37 +0000 http://hematopoiesis.info/?p=1249#comment-12298 Thank you Frances for information. It was not clear for me why Replicell trials discontinued. Why is it so expensive - 30k for hospitals - to purchase CB sample from NMDP? Thank you Frances for information. It was not clear for me why Replicell trials discontinued. Why is it so expensive - 30k for hospitals - to purchase CB sample from NMDP?

]]> By: Frances Verter, PhD http://hematopoiesis.info/2010/02/01/some-thoughts-about-clinical-grade-cord-blood-hematopoietic-stem-cell-expansion/comment-page-1/#comment-12294 Frances Verter, PhD Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:02:40 +0000 http://hematopoiesis.info/?p=1249#comment-12294 There is a competition between expanded cord blood transplants versus double cord blood transplants for clinical use in adults. It is not only a question of what is medically effective but also what is cost effective. The first trail of expanded cord blood in adult leukemia patients, published in 2000, used the Replicell device from the company Aastrom Biosciences. If I remember correctly, the Replicell device cost about $100K. That was its undoing, and Astrom abandoned work on it years ago. I would like to hear more comparison of the financial cost of current expansion methods, in terms of both lab equipment and trained employee labor. Double cord transplants are very expensive, given that the cost to obtain each cord blood unit is about $30K from the NMDP. If expanded cord blood is just as good medically, and costs less than $60K, then third party payers will favor it over the double cord treatment modality, which is currently very popular. There is a competition between expanded cord blood transplants versus double cord blood transplants for clinical use in adults. It is not only a question of what is medically effective but also what is cost effective.

The first trail of expanded cord blood in adult leukemia patients, published in 2000, used the Replicell device from the company Aastrom Biosciences. If I remember correctly, the Replicell device cost about $100K. That was its undoing, and Astrom abandoned work on it years ago.

I would like to hear more comparison of the financial cost of current expansion methods, in terms of both lab equipment and trained employee labor.

Double cord transplants are very expensive, given that the cost to obtain each cord blood unit is about $30K from the NMDP. If expanded cord blood is just as good medically, and costs less than $60K, then third party payers will favor it over the double cord treatment modality, which is currently very popular.

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