SINGAPORE: About 56 per cent of affected Cordlife customers have accepted the refund offers made by the company after its mishandling of cord blood units.
In a regulatory update on Friday (Jun 6), the private cord blood bank gave an update on the number of clients who have accepted its offers that were made in February and April 2024. The offers comprised a refund of the annual fees paid by affected clients from the onset of the "temperature excursion".
For those affected, Cordlife had also offered to continue storing the cord blood units until their child reaches the age of 21 and to waive all future fees.
When previously contacted by CNA in May last year, Cordlife declined to give the exact figure for the number of clients who had accepted the refunds.
Its mishandling of cord blood units was first made public on Nov 30, 2023, when the Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that investigations were ongoing.
Seven tanks storing cord blood units were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits.
About 2,200 cord blood units were found damaged in one of the tanks, affecting at least 2,150 clients. In April last year, it was announced that another 5,300 cord blood units in a second tank and dry shipper were deemed "non-viable".
Some customers are, however, continuing their legal action against the company. In a bourse update on the matter on Apr 1, the company said it had received on Mar 28 two letters of demand from lawyers acting for two groups of affected clients.
One group is claiming for damages for breach of contract and negligence, while the other group is requesting for compensation for costs, among other warranties and undertakings from Cordlife.
The company received its first letter of demand in May last year, while two other announcements were made in Aug 15, 2024 and Mar 1 on the same matter.
In January, MOH renewed Cordlife's cord blood and human tissue banking service licences for a year, more than four months after it was allowed to resume its cord blood banking services in a limited manner.
The company said on Friday it intends to host a series of townhall sessions - both in-person and online - to continue engaging customers to address their concerns.
In a media invite last September, Cordlife talked up its new laboratory monitoring system to keep track of storage tank temperatures remotely and how it had hired more experienced laboratory staff and technicians to "elevate standards further".
Cordlife added on Friday that it is also working closely with the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) to restore both accreditations for its Singapore operations.
In December 2023, it lost its cellular therapy accreditation with FACT. The suspension will last indefinitely, "at a minimum until FACT’s investigations are completed and issues are resolved", Cordlife then said.
AABB followed suit in August last year, with the international blood bank body withdrawing Cordlife's accreditation for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of cord blood.
The company also provided an update on its Singapore operations, which were given the go-ahead by authorities to fully resume in January.
"While collection rates remain below the company’s pre-incident average, the full resumption of its Singapore operations represents an encouraging step forward in restoring client confidence and rebuilding operational momentum," it said.
"The company has also strengthened and renewed its relationships with the medical community, particularly in Singapore. It has been proactively engaging hospitals, doctors, nurses and other stakeholders within the medical community to ensure they are fully informed on the company’s rectification efforts and improved procedures," Cordlife added.
Cordlife said it would continue to expand its outreach initiatives with the aim of returning to "pre-incident levels of performance" and would continue to update shareholders when there are material developments.
For the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024, the group's revenue fell 50.4 per cent to S$27.6 million (US$21.4 million), with Cordlife primarily attributing the decline to the suspension of its Singapore operations. Its FY2024 revenue in Singapore was minus S$2 million, a steep reverse from S$24.7 million in 2023.
In a separate bourse filing, Cordlife said it had appointed current group executive director Chen Xiaoling as its group CEO and Singapore CEO with effect from Thursday.
The board said that it had considered Ms Chen's "proven track record" within the group as well as her qualifications, working experience, leadership capabilities and contributions.
She will continue to serve as group executive director alongside her new roles, it added.
Ms Chen was among nine people arrested earlier in connection with the mishandling of cord blood units.
Non-independent non-executive directors, Mr Zhai Lingyun, Mr Yiu Ming Yiu and Mr Chow Wai Leong, Cordlife's chief financial officer Ms Thet Hnin Yi, the company's former Group CEO Tan Poh Lan, acting chairman Ho Choon Hou as well as independent directors Yeo Hwee Tiong and Titus Jim Cheong Tuck Yan were previously arrested and released on bail.
In relation to a separate police report that was lodged by Cordlife's board of directors in April last year over "potential wrongdoings" of former employees amid an internal probe into why the cord blood units in one of the tanks were damaged, the company said it had not received any update regarding that case.
"The company will continue to provide its full cooperation to the relevant authorities, as and when needed, for any subsequent investigations in connection with the police report," it said in a separate bourse filing on Friday.
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In a regulatory update on Friday (Jun 6), the private cord blood bank gave an update on the number of clients who have accepted its offers that were made in February and April 2024. The offers comprised a refund of the annual fees paid by affected clients from the onset of the "temperature excursion".
For those affected, Cordlife had also offered to continue storing the cord blood units until their child reaches the age of 21 and to waive all future fees.
When previously contacted by CNA in May last year, Cordlife declined to give the exact figure for the number of clients who had accepted the refunds.
Its mishandling of cord blood units was first made public on Nov 30, 2023, when the Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that investigations were ongoing.
Seven tanks storing cord blood units were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits.
About 2,200 cord blood units were found damaged in one of the tanks, affecting at least 2,150 clients. In April last year, it was announced that another 5,300 cord blood units in a second tank and dry shipper were deemed "non-viable".
Some customers are, however, continuing their legal action against the company. In a bourse update on the matter on Apr 1, the company said it had received on Mar 28 two letters of demand from lawyers acting for two groups of affected clients.
One group is claiming for damages for breach of contract and negligence, while the other group is requesting for compensation for costs, among other warranties and undertakings from Cordlife.
The company received its first letter of demand in May last year, while two other announcements were made in Aug 15, 2024 and Mar 1 on the same matter.
In January, MOH renewed Cordlife's cord blood and human tissue banking service licences for a year, more than four months after it was allowed to resume its cord blood banking services in a limited manner.
The company said on Friday it intends to host a series of townhall sessions - both in-person and online - to continue engaging customers to address their concerns.
In a media invite last September, Cordlife talked up its new laboratory monitoring system to keep track of storage tank temperatures remotely and how it had hired more experienced laboratory staff and technicians to "elevate standards further".
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ACCREDITATION
Cordlife added on Friday that it is also working closely with the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) to restore both accreditations for its Singapore operations.
In December 2023, it lost its cellular therapy accreditation with FACT. The suspension will last indefinitely, "at a minimum until FACT’s investigations are completed and issues are resolved", Cordlife then said.
AABB followed suit in August last year, with the international blood bank body withdrawing Cordlife's accreditation for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of cord blood.
The company also provided an update on its Singapore operations, which were given the go-ahead by authorities to fully resume in January.
"While collection rates remain below the company’s pre-incident average, the full resumption of its Singapore operations represents an encouraging step forward in restoring client confidence and rebuilding operational momentum," it said.
"The company has also strengthened and renewed its relationships with the medical community, particularly in Singapore. It has been proactively engaging hospitals, doctors, nurses and other stakeholders within the medical community to ensure they are fully informed on the company’s rectification efforts and improved procedures," Cordlife added.
Cordlife said it would continue to expand its outreach initiatives with the aim of returning to "pre-incident levels of performance" and would continue to update shareholders when there are material developments.
For the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024, the group's revenue fell 50.4 per cent to S$27.6 million (US$21.4 million), with Cordlife primarily attributing the decline to the suspension of its Singapore operations. Its FY2024 revenue in Singapore was minus S$2 million, a steep reverse from S$24.7 million in 2023.
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In a separate bourse filing, Cordlife said it had appointed current group executive director Chen Xiaoling as its group CEO and Singapore CEO with effect from Thursday.
The board said that it had considered Ms Chen's "proven track record" within the group as well as her qualifications, working experience, leadership capabilities and contributions.
She will continue to serve as group executive director alongside her new roles, it added.
Ms Chen was among nine people arrested earlier in connection with the mishandling of cord blood units.
Non-independent non-executive directors, Mr Zhai Lingyun, Mr Yiu Ming Yiu and Mr Chow Wai Leong, Cordlife's chief financial officer Ms Thet Hnin Yi, the company's former Group CEO Tan Poh Lan, acting chairman Ho Choon Hou as well as independent directors Yeo Hwee Tiong and Titus Jim Cheong Tuck Yan were previously arrested and released on bail.
In relation to a separate police report that was lodged by Cordlife's board of directors in April last year over "potential wrongdoings" of former employees amid an internal probe into why the cord blood units in one of the tanks were damaged, the company said it had not received any update regarding that case.
"The company will continue to provide its full cooperation to the relevant authorities, as and when needed, for any subsequent investigations in connection with the police report," it said in a separate bourse filing on Friday.
Related:
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