Source: PRNewswire

TIANJIN, China, April 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area announced today that the first Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Bank in China, an important component of the national stem cell system project, has been established in Tianjin University Science Park in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area.  This achievement follows on from the establishment and opening of the most advanced stem cell bank, with the largest Umbilical Cord Blood Hemopoietic Stem Cell Bank, in 2001.

The new bank will considerably improve the diagnosis and treatment of stem cell products for malignant hemopathies, immunodeficiency diseases, hereditary diseases, and malignant tumors etc., and will accelerate conversion of achievements of stem cell-related technologies and genetic engineering-related research into practical productive forces, marking that our nation's industrialization of stem cell engineering products has climbed to new heights.

esenchymal stem cells formerly needed marrow sampling for separation, culture and collection, but research personnel at Tianjin AmCellGene Engineering Co.,Ltd. and the National Engineering Research Center of Cell Products have succeeded in separating large amounts of mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cords; and proved that mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cords, compared with mesenchymal stem cells from marrow, have stronger increment abilities and lower immunological rejections, and the umbilical cord features broad resources and convenient material drawing while causing no harm to the donor, therefore having obvious clinical advantages.

This newly established Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Bank has been approved as a project by the National Development and Reform Commission.  Its total reserve capacity of Phase I is 40,000 sets with a daily treatment capacity of 20 sets; the total reserve capacity of Phase II is expected to be over 500,000 sets with a daily treatment capacity of more than 300 sets.  The stem cell treatment center is built strictly according to standards of Good Manufacturing Practice and Quality Control, having around 760 square meters of class 10,000 and local class 100 highly clean areas; main instruments and equipment are all world class products; typing laboratory of the stem cell bank is equipped in strict accordance with standards concerning gene diagnosis laboratories issued by the Ministry of Health, reaching domestic first class HLA typing laboratory levels.

About Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA)

ianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) was established in 1984 with the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.  It is one of the first state-class economic-technological development areas in the country.

EDA is located in the center of a larger area bordering Bohai Sea and the east of the Asia-Europe Land Bridge, thus serving as the gate to the two super cities of Beijing and Tianjin, and the throat connecting the northeast of China.  By the end of 2005, 4,067 foreign companies have landed in TEDA.  Of the Fortune 500 companies, 57 multinational companies, from 10 countries and regions, including such well-established multinational giants as Motorola, Samsung and Toyota, invested in 123 enterprises in TEDA.  In 2000, "Fortune" listed TEDA as one of the most highly recommended economic areas in China.  In 2002 UNIDO listed TEDA as one of the most dynamic areas of China together with Shenzhen, Suzhou, Wenzhou, Shanghai Pudong and Xi'an High-tech Park.