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Facility
for Stem cell bank and research to come up in Hyd
P
Ram Kumar - Hyderabad
An integrated facility to take up stem cell research
on umbilical cord blood and an attached maternity-cum-neonatal
hospital with stem cell bank is being planned in the
outskirts of Hyderabad. The fully integrated facility
is likely to be commissioned by January 2004.
The joint venture umbilical cord blood stem cell research
project, the first of its kind integrated facility in
India, with world class standards, is to be promoted
by Pacific Healthcare Holdings of Singapore and a healthcare
providing partner from Hyderabad at a total project
cost of over Rs 50 crore.
In an exclusive, Dr B S Bajaj, president of the All
India Biotech Association (AIBA), Southern region, said
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was recently signed
in Singapore by B P Achary, secretary, industries, on
behalf of the government of Andhra Pradesh, and William
Chong, managing director of Pacific Healthcare Holdings
of Singapore.
The Singapore healthcare group, which is engaged in
medical services and biomedical research, with a chain
of hospitals in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, will offer its technology
and expertise in the field of stem cell research relating
to umbilical cord blood to the joint venture facility
at Hyderabad.
He said the government of Andhra Pradesh had already
short-listed a few companies to partner with the Singapore
Group. The joint venture facility will be on a 50: 50
cost-sharing basis.
As the facility provides for a stem cell bank, the cord
blood can be stored even for 100 years under the required
conditions and used to treat the mother and child in
case of a need. In the first phase, the project, with
an investment of around Rs 25 crore, will have stem
cell research facility & bank, maternity and neonatal
hospital and collection centres in tie-up with various
hospitals.
In the second phase, with another Rs 25 crore investment,
the project will expand its operations and facilities.
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