With record cord blood collections, Americord aims for Inc. 500

NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Americord announced today its continued growth, supporting management's belief that it remains the fastest growing cord blood bank in the United States. 2013 proved to be another record year for Americord and the company is now moving more quickly than ever towards its goal of being the leading provider of cord blood and cord tissue banking services in the country.  

Americord's exceptional growth rate indicates that it may soon be included in Inc. 500's prestigious list of the fastest growing companies in the country. Inc. 500 evaluates three years of growth over a benchmark fourth year. Americord's growth of over 2,200% since 2011 would place it squarely in the top 200 fastest growing companies in the country.

Americord's extraordinary level of growth has been achieved by maintaining affordable prices, providing high quality services, and aggressively developing new innovative technologies related to cord blood banking. Additionally, Americord has made a name for itself as the only cord blood bank to openly refuse to compensate doctors for patient referrals, a practice that is illegal in the pharmaceutical industry, but thrives in the cord blood banking industry through a loophole in the law. In contrast to its competitors including CBR and ViaCord, Americord relies primarily on referrals from existing clients and grass roots marketing efforts to find new clients.

In addition, Americord's executives have consciously kept marketing costs at a minimum in order to provide the lowest cost option for cord blood banking on the market. While many of Americord's competitors spend nearly 50% of revenues on marketing, Americord spends a fraction of that amount, closer to 10%. This dramatic differential enables Americord to pass savings on to clients while still maintaining the company's best-in-class quality and customer service standards. Demonstrating its commitment to quality, Americord offers the highest Quality Guarantee of any cord blood bank at $80,000.

Committed to being a leader in the science behind stem cell therapy, Americord has also been very busy developing new stem cell products for expectant parents. At the end of 2013 Americord announced that it had validated a new process for collecting mesenchymal stem cells from placenta tissue, making it the first company to successfully isolate these particularly valuable stem cells within placenta tissue while also simplifying the collection process for delivery room medical personnel. In addition, the company's Executive Medical Director, Dr. Robert Dracker is moving forward in the final critical steps toward developing CordAdvantage, which utilizes a proprietary process to maximize the volume of hematopoietic stem cells that can be harvested from cord blood found in the placenta immediately following the birth of a baby, perhaps even enough to treat a full grown adult.

"2013 was another fantastic year for our company," said Americord CEO Martin Smithmyer. "We are pleased that so many new parents have found us as an affordable option for storing their baby's stem cells. In 2014 we will continue to be dedicated to delivering the highest quality stem cell collection and storage services at the lowest cost, while we pursue unique and innovative ways to improve the therapeutic utility of stem cells."

About Americord 
Americord Registry is a leader in the advancement of umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and placenta tissue banking. Americord collects, processes, and stores newborn stem cells from umbilical cord blood for future medical or therapeutic use, including the treatment of more than 80 blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia and leukemia. Founded in 2008, Americord is registered with the FDA and operates in all 50 states. The company's laboratory is CLIA Certified, accredited by the AABB and complies with all federal and state guidelines and applicable licenses. Americord is headquartered in New York, NY. You may visit Americord's cord blood blog or website at cordadvantage.com for more information. You may also find Americord on Facebook and follow the company on Twitter.

SOURCE Americord