BioLife: Freeze media sales to grow as more biologics enter market
Biolife manufactures the CryoStor freeze media range containing Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a reagent that helps protect against damage from intracellular ice when freezing and thawing biologics, as well as thermal shippers for biopharmaceuticals.
For the second quarter 2014, sales from these core products reached $1.1m (€0.8m) - an increase of 14% over the same period - and were attributed to a growth in demand from regenerative medicine makers and cell suppliers.
The figures brought some relief to the company’s total sales which dropped 48% due to the loss of a manufacturing contract for an undisclosed organ preservation company.
CEO Mike Rice was optimistic product revenues would continue to increase as its clients biologics move out of the clinical stage and into commercial manufacture.
Currently, BioLife’s products are being used in more than 130 customer clinical trials, he told investors during a conference call yesterday. In October 2012 the number stood at around 50 and reached 100 trials in January this year.
“The average annual revenue for clinical indication should our customers receive marketing and regulatory approvals and commence large scale commercial manufacturing [could] be in the $500,000 to $2m range,” he said. “This is a really remarkable customer base, and represents significant revenue and profit upside for BioLife over the next several years.”
Earlier this year Parcell Laboratories adopted a cell-and-tissue freezing technology made by BioLife for use in clinical trials of its adult stem cell therapies, whilst in April Adaptimmune selected Biolife’s media for a T-Cell Receptor product.
Other key customers include Cellular Dynamics, B Lonza, Stem Cell Technologies, Triangle Research Labs and Quidel Diagnostic Hybrids, who use BioLife’s products to preserve frozen and fresh cells during shipment from suppliers to their customers, Rice told investors.
