Cordlife says it will accept the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) decision to suspend the company from collecting new cord blood and human tissues for up to six months. It will also not be submitting written representations to the ministry, which had issued the notice on Nov 30.
The company will also be unable to test, process, store, and provide any new types of tests to its patients during the same period.
Following this, the company says it will be unable to assess the impact of the ongoing investigations on its financial performance for the FY2023 ending Dec 31.
In its Nov 30 filing, Cordlife revealed that seven of its cryogenic storage tanks based in Singapore have been exposed to temperatures outside of their normal temperature range from November 2020 to date.
“Since the detection of these irregularities, the company has undertaken viability testing of donated cord blood samples stored within one of the affected tanks, which represents approximately 2.66% of cord blood units stored by the company,” it had said at the time.
Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said, on his Facebook page on Dec 8, that investigations by the ministry are still ongoing and that the probe could take up to six weeks.
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Following the ongoing investigation by MOH, Cordlife’s accreditation with the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) has been suspended indefinitely till the investigations are completed and the issues are solved.
Meanwhile, Cordlife’s accreditation with the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) for its facility in Singapore remains unaffected.
Both updates will not impact the storage of cord blood units at Cordlife Singapore, says the company in its Dec 7 release.
“I once again want to convey my sincere apologies to our clients for any distress that this incident has caused. We are working hard to update them on their individual situations as quickly as we can, as well as address the questions and concerns they rightly have. Our conversations with the Ministry of Health are continuing and we hope to be able to provide further updates on our progress soon. “We will be working closely with FACT and AABB to share updates and information as the investigation with MOH progresses,” says group CEO Tan Poh Lan on Dec 7.
As at 9.26am, shares in Cordlife are trading flat at 30.5 cents. Shares in the company opened 32.6% lower on Dec 1 after the news of MOH’s investigations broke.
