1-4-2024 (SINGAPORE) Cordlife, a private blood bank, has sought a halt in the trading of its shares on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) as investigations into the mishandling of cord blood units continue.
In a filing on SGX on Monday morning (Apr 1), Cordlife requested a trading suspension pending the release of an official announcement.
The last recorded closing price of Cordlife shares stood at S$0.1720. The stock has plummeted by over 60 per cent since revelations emerged last November that seven of its storage tanks had been subjected to temperatures beyond acceptable limits. This incident resulted in damage to cord blood units belonging to at least 2,150 clients, with a potential impact on another 17,000 clients.
In recent weeks, several key figures within Cordlife, including former group CEO Tan Poh Lan, chief financial officer Thet Hnin Yi, and four board members, have been apprehended in connection to the mismanagement of cord blood units.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) received a complaint from a member of the public on Jul 24, 2023, regarding alleged issues with a storage tank. Subsequent investigations revealed that Cordlife’s board had been aware of the matter as early as February 2023.
Following the arrest of its former group CEO, Cordlife’s newly appointed chief executive Ivan Yiu Pang Fai assured shareholders that the company would implement stringent measures to elevate operational standards. Cordlife is presently serving a six-month suspension imposed by MOH in December 2023.
Under this suspension, the company is mandated to address a series of potential non-compliances by May 31. These include deficiencies in incident reporting frameworks, inadequate staff training and competence, and improper storage of cord blood units, among other issues.
Moreover, Cordlife’s cellular therapy accreditation has been indefinitely suspended by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, a global non-profit organization responsible for inspections and accreditation in cellular therapy.
