Vita 34 : Expands International Market Presence - Apart from Germany Now Active in 20 Other Countries

Vita 34 Expands International Market Presence - Apart from Germany Now Active in 20 Other Countries

- Cooperative agreements for the storage of umbilical cord blood from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia successfully concluded; preparations started for market entry in Hungary

Leipzig, 8 January, 2015 - Vita 34 AG (WKN A0BL84), a pioneer in the storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood and tissue, and a specialist in cryo-preservation, has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Baltic stem cell bank AS "Imunolita". With this market entry in the Baltic countries, Vita 34 is consistently pursuing its foreign expansion, and strengthening its position as one of the largest private umbilical cord blood banks in Europe. The agreement provides that Imunolita, founded in 2007, will independently assume the responsibility for marketing and sales for the storage of umbilical cord blood in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. In the future, Imunolita will use the collection pack developed by Vita 34 and offer parents the storage of umbilical cord blood in Germany. Vita 34 will prepare the umbilical cord blood preparations for long-term storage in its own cryogenic tanks at its Leipzig location, in observance of the highest quality standards.

With this concluded cooperation agreement Vita 34 is now active in 20 countries apart from Germany on the European and global markets.

In the coming months Vita 34 intends to establish an additional sales partner in Hungary, and to intensify the cooperation with Serbian sales partner Bio Save d.o.o. Thus, Vita 34 is securing for itself direct influence on sales in Southeast Europe.

The company is expanding its presence in other countries, as well. By acquiring an additional 12% stake in the Spanish Secuvita, S.L. in Q1 2015, in the future Vita 34 will own all of the interests in the company. By integrating the preparations from Vivocell Biosolutions GmbH & Co KG from Austria in January 2015, Vita 34 has also taken on customers from Turkey and Greece. Plans are to review and expand cooperation with the local sales partners.

Dr. André Gerth, Chairman of the Management Board of Vita 34 AG: "Strengthening our market position in Europe via local cooperative sales ventures is a significant element in our growth strategy. Therefore, we are very pleased to be able to announce that we have set an additional milestone in Vita 34's corporate development with our expansion into the European markets Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. In the umbilical cord blood bank Imunolita already established in Lithuania we have an experienced sales partner on our side. Moreover, based on the competitive situation in the Baltic countries we see potential for additional revenue and profit effects in fiscal year 2015 and beyond."

Back in October 2014, Vita 34 had signed a "letter of intent" (LOI) with the private clinic Van Hanh Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Currently, a potential cooperation for establishing a stem cell center in Vietnam is under review. Apart from an agreement with the National Hospital of Obstetrics for establishing a public umbilical cord blood bank, Vita 34 has been successful in advancing activities beyond the European borders in Southeast Asia, as well.

Company Profile

Vita 34 was founded in 1997 as the first private umbilical cord blood bank in Europe and, as a complete provider, offers collection logistics, preparation and storage of umbilical cord blood and cord tissue. The basis for its successful work is an outstanding position in the technological segment of cryo-preservation. Here, cells and tissue are preserved alive at some -190ºC for long periods of time, and can be used if needed in the context of medical treatment. Parents of nearly 120,000 children are already taking advantage of this offering and have provided for their children with a stem cell deposit at Vita 34.