Stem cell industry takes off in China amid lack of regulation

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-06-04

A volunteer talks to a man about stem cell donation in Qinhuangdao,
Hebei province, April 11. (File photo/Xinhua)

The global stem cell industry has had a potential market value of about US$80 billion over the past two years, and is expected to reach around US$400 billion by the year 2020, the Shanghai-based National Business Daily reports, citing unnamed industry experts. China's stem cell industry has been widely touted as having bright prospects despite unclear policy, the report said.

On the Nasdaq, stem cell-concept shares have total market value exceeding US$30 billion. On China's A-share markets, Zhongyuan Union Stem Cell Bio-Engineering Corp is performing better than expected, while AVIC Capital Company and Tianjin Jinbin Development Company have been indirectly involved in stem cell investments.

Currently, China has formed comparatively complete stem cell production chains, including upstream businesses such as providing stem cell collection and storage, and downstream businesses in offering stem cell isolation, amplification and other technical services. The stem cell storage industry has even seen tough competition.

The competition is seen as normal as the stem cell industry has a high gross profit margin of more than 70%, experts said. The competition will help reshuffle the industry, said Wang Libin, director of Ningxia Medical University General Hospital's Stem Cell Research Institute.

Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can be differentiated into specialized cells and can divide to produce more stem cells. They are generally found in multi-cellular organisms. The main sources of stem cells are embryos, placenta and its appendages, autologous bone marrow and peripheral blood, of which embryo-originated stem cells are most active and have the highest hopes of being used in disease treatment, Wang said.

In Chongqing alone, nearly 10 stem cell storage companies have been established, insiders said.

Beauty treatment will be a key direction for the application of stem cells. Zhongyuan Union said it plans to introduce some end products for beauty treatment, according to the government policy.

As the government has yet to approve any stem-cell beauty treatment items, members of the public should be aware of what is injected into their bodies — some substances may have side effects, Wang said.

On the other hand, the government has yet to prohibit businesses from conducting stem-cell beauty treatment, therefore, these institutions are not illegal operations, insiders said.

Experts and industry insiders including Wang are all optimistic for the stem cell industry's future prospects despite the current disorderly state of operations. They are urging the government to set up a clear supervisory policy and to legislate for the industry.