CBR to Acquire Natera’s Evercord™ Cord Blood Business
Sharpens Natera's Focus on Reproductive Health, Oncology and Organ Transplant
SAN CARLOS, Calif., Sept. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRA) and CBR (Cord Blood Registry) today announced the acquisition by CBR, a California Cryobank Life Sciences company, and the world’s largest newborn stem cell collection and storage organization, of Natera’s Evercord™ cord blood and tissue banking business.
"This divestiture will allow Natera to focus squarely on its core genetic testing business in reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation," said Steve Chapman, Natera’s CEO. "We are proud of what we’ve accomplished with Evercord and believe that CBR, as the recognized industry leader in newborn stem cells, is the best partner for cord blood services moving forward."
"As a pillar of the California Cryobank Life Sciences (CCLS) organization, CBR is built on scientific excellence, leadership, and best-in-class services," said Richard Jennings, California Cryobank Life Sciences, Chief Executive Officer. "Natera shares our core values and commitment to quality. We look forward to safeguarding these newborn stem cells and allowing the Evercord families to take advantage of future advances in cellular therapies and regenerative medicine."
CBR will work closely with Natera to ensure a smooth transition for customers and ordering clinics.
Convergence Healthcare Advisors LLC served as exclusive strategic advisor to Natera, Inc. on the sale of the Evercord business.
About CBR
Founded in 1992, CBR is entrusted by parents with storing more than 875,000 newborn stem cell samples for their children. As part of the California Cryobank Life Sciences Platform, CBR is dedicated to advancing the clinical applications of cord blood and cord tissue stem cells by partnering with institutions to establish FDA-regulated clinical trials for conditions that have no cure today. CBR has helped more than 500 families use their cord blood stem cells for established and experimental medical treatments, more than any other family cord blood bank. CBR is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with an 80,000 square foot laboratory and storage facility located in Tucson, Arizona. For more information, please visit www.cordblood.com.
About Natera
Natera is a global leader in cell-free DNA testing. The mission of the company is to change the management of disease worldwide with a focus on reproductive health, oncology, and organ transplantation. Natera operates an ISO 13485-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) in San Carlos, Calif. It offers a host of proprietary genetic testing services to inform physicians who care for pregnant women, researchers in cancer including biopharmaceutical companies, and genetic laboratories through its cloud-based software platform. For more information, visit natera.com. Follow Natera on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and are not a representation that Natera’s plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Natera’s expectations as of the date of this press release, and Natera disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including with respect to our efforts to develop and commercialize new product offerings, our ability to successfully increase demand for and grow revenues for our product offerings, our collaborations with commercial partners such as medical institutions, contract laboratories, laboratory partners, and other third parties, whether the results of clinical studies will support the use of our product offerings, our expectations of the reliability, accuracy and performance of our screening tests, or of the benefits of our screening tests and product offerings to patients, providers and payers. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in "Risk Factors" in Natera’s recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and in other filings Natera makes with the SEC from time to time. These documents are available at www.natera.com/investors and www.sec.gov.
CBR Contacts
Media: Gillian Small, media@cryobank.com, 201-526-4677
Natera Contacts
Investor Relations: Mike Brophy, CFO, Natera, Inc., 650-249-9090
Corporate Communications: pr@natera.com
SOURCE Natera, Inc.
