Monday, March 28, 2011

"CORD BLOOD BANKING", A STEPWISE APPROACH IN CREATING A NEW BUSINESS VENTURE!"




1. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES – Vision for the future "FROM AN IMAGINARY COMPANY CALLED "STEM SITE DUBAI" OR BRIEFLY "SSD" in the United Arab Emirates.


(An Imaginary Logo)


QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED WHEN SHAPING THE BASIC IDEA IS INTENDED:

• What estimates do you have for approximate turnover and profit estimates, year by year?
• Do you plan to introduce any additional products or services?
• Do you plan to introduce any new staff?
• Do you plan to introduce any new premises?
• Do you plan to introduce any new equipment?
• When will these be introduced?

Stem cells in medical research have amazing potential in one day assisting the body in repairing tissue and perhaps even growing organs. Though the technology and research has not reached that potential just yet, stem cells are considered by many medical researchers to within our grasp, with more advancements in technology and years of stem cell research.


2. MANAGING THE BUSINESS and the STORY WE NEED TO DESIGN NO MATTER HOW PRECISE IT IS. IT IS HOWEVER CRUCIAL TO IMAGINE THE COMPANY IN A NOMAL OPERATION CONDITION TO DISCOVER THE UNIQUENESS OF THE IDEA IN A SPECIFIC TIME FRAME AND GEOGRAPHICAL AREA. For a classic approach we first need to consider the Key Players in decision making process.

We better define each person like:

Name
• What is your name?

Address
• What is your home address?

Telephone No.
• What is your home phone no.?
• Include mobile phone if you have one

Date of Birth
• When were you born (may be important for grants e.g. Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust, 18-25 year olds)

E-mail
• What is your personal email address?

Qualifications
• What qualifications do you have?
• List as many as you can, even if they are not directly relevant to your business.

Work Experience
• What previous employment have you had?
• What business or management experience did you gain?
• If you have previously run your own business, what type of business was it and what happened to it?
• Please attach your CV as an appendix

Training
• Skills Analysis - Review the skills of managers and others to define their training needs.
• Training Needs Analysis - What type of training do you need to give to operate your business? Give a training schedule.

Advisers Consulted
• Who have you spoken to about your proposal - accountant, solicitor, bank manager, Enterprise North East Trust etc?

In the Context of Cord Blood Stem Cell idea and its Banking, "SSD" management team ASSUMED TO OPERATE optimally by SEVEN manegers acting like Division Heads. Listed below are the management team and a brief description of each member. Characterized as A, B, C, D, E, F and G each representing one of the major function in our NEW VENTURE "SSD":

2-1- Mr. A, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)
the CEO has 16 years of management experience in the world of services industry. He has been involved in the Operation, Business development, SQHSE, through management operations and implementation. He has been a regional manager for Multinational company, and he has received other important awards and recognitions as a manager over his career progression.

2-2- Mr. B, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
is a highly experienced entrepreneur. He founded and built several companies including Europe’s 2nd largest networking and communications distributor, a publicly quoted company with a full listing on the LSE, with revenues of mioEU 500. He has been the chairman and CEO of several European and US companies

2-3- Mr. C, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER (CTO)
has extensive technical and management experience with companies such as Sprint, INS, Lucent, Apple, AAA Auto, and functioned as the chief network engineer for the District Courts of the United States of America. Gary obtained his CCIE in 2001, has a Bachelor of Arts from Nevada State University in business information systems, and is co-author of “CCNA Practical Studies” by Cisco Press.

2-4- Mrs. D, CLINICAL DIRECTOR
Giles is the Clinical Director of Cells4Life and is a registered medical doctor practicing within the NHS, with several years of experience in cancer research. He is responsible for the clinical aspects of Cells4Life providing a key link between parents, doctors/midwives and Cells4Life in the clinical setting of cord blood collection and storage.

2-5- Mr. E, VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
brings an extensive corporate technical training background from Hewlett Packard, where he trained engineers for companies such as Ingram Micro, Gates Arrow, Tech Data, Synnex, UBID, Insight.com, as well as others. As manager of training programs for the VAR channel, Mr. E managed twenty-seven regional VAR trainers in a mentoring environment. He also obtained industry certifications for WAN technologies, and network peripherals management. He also brings an extensive background in technical sales, support, and personnel management.

2-6- Mr. F, SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR
He holds a PhD in Molecular Virology and has 14 years experience in microbiology, cancer and genetic research. He is the Scientific Director of Cells4Life responsible for the management of the Cells4Life laboratory headquarters in Sussex. Mr. F also oversees the scientific advancement of the service and laboratory ensuring Cells4Life are at the forefront of stem cell research and its applications.

2-7- Mr. G, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO),
is currently the technical lead on the Forward Tech engineering team. He has obtained his CCIE, MCSE, and CCSI. worked before for companies such as Mentor Technologies, Consonus, Inc, Advanced Technical Center, BroadWing, and Level3.

3- Board Members (Symbolized by Names than Letters FOR EASIER DIFFERENTIATION)

Tom Bradford is CEO of Primitus Health Systems, a medical consulting and training firm. Tom is also a Professor at the University of Nevada in the MBA Entrepreneurship Program. He has seventeen years of experience in business/strategic planning and technology fields. As an international consultant, Tom has worked with many of the Fortune 1000 as well as thousands of executives of small businesses to help them develop a better strategy. He has helped companies save millions of dollars by rethinking and restructuring their internal processes. Tom has started several ventures over a thirty-year period, and has successfully operated and sold four businesses.
Kurt Nilson has over thirteen years of experience in business development and information technology management Kurt is highly qualified and experienced in building development teams for e-Business projects.
He has managed several projects involving Web development technologies such as Cold Fusion, script development, database design, overall Web development, and ERP. As a regional technical manager for Sprint, his previous responsibilities also included analyzing customer IT environments, business requirements, operations, future growth, and determining maturity of operations. His experience aligning IT goals and objectives with business goals has been instrumental in helping Fortune 1000 companies gain an understanding and control over their environments.

Larry Instead has over seventeen years of experience in information technology engineering and management Larry spent nine of those years as the project manager for Intermountain Health Care (IHC). Larry has also been involved in several successful start-up companies that have been acquired.

4- Management Team Gaps

Forward Tech’s current management team has performed well in developing the company and surviving recent challenges in the wake of a global slowdown in corporate and government purchasing. However, the current management team has done an excellent job in bringing the company to its present stage of business. They have learned some of the valuable lessons of the pitfalls of a start-up and have made contingency plans to weather the storms they have encountered.

To assist with HR issues, management has decided to outsource all HR functions to a competent HR and benefits company. This will free up the management team from highly important yet very time-consuming operations such as payroll, HR issues, dealing with taxes, quarterly filings, etc.
The biggest area of neglect currently is the director of marketing position. This position will eventually need to be filled by a competent individual with solid experience marketing to IT decision-makers.


5- ONE QUICK FEASIBILITY STUDY such as SWOT Analysis or another similar method to evaluate the idea in the very early steps. (Business SWOT Analysis - An analysis of your business, relating to its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats).

5-1 STRENGTHS
Highly specialized industry, pioneer on this service.

Expertise, UK main office is globally recognised as the top ranked expertise in this field , experience, more than 15 years on this field Accreditation by third party inspectors Accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks for the specialized processing of stem cells. The laboratory and storage facility are owned by the bank
Don’t compromise the volumetric storage advantages to removing the red blood cells from your baby's cord blood sample.The number of cord blood samples processed and stored speaks to experience, more than 500,000 processed and stored per year. Bank that processes and stores only stem cells in dedicated facilities. Controlled-rate freezing is performed with computerized equipment that lowers the temperature of the sample as safely as possible. Comprehensive coaching and informative way of communication with the customer. Financially the bank is showing YOY 25% growth in revenue with 5-6 YOY GP improvement.
Revenue is xxx $, with GP of %


5-2 WEAKNESSES


5-3 OPPORTUNITIES
The UAE has one of the highest numbers of genetic disorders in the world cells need to be processed within 36 hours. No local storage facility. UAE is a still considered as virgin reach market that easily adopting new technologies.

5-4 THREATS
No finite set of regulations are in place yet! Bad reputation from small agencies. Licenses can be obtained from different authority with UAE.


6- Competitors SWOT Analysis - An analysis of your competitors, relating to its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.


6-1 STRENGTHS

is the "First to the market"

6-2 WEAKNESSES
Current Private companies do not have storage facilities and therefore, they have to send samples overseas. Current private companies are not providing important information to donors. Practicing illegal transporting overseas. The Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms) as part of the government's plan to ban the representative offices operating in the country. Rapid freezing performed or simply putting a sample into liquid nitrogen may damage the cells. None of which is accredited by third party. Follow VOLUME REDUCTION" for "RED-CELL DEPLETION"! It is possible to reduce some of the plasma and other cells in a sample to make it smaller, but this does not remove the majority of the red blood cells

- No financial data YET available!

6-3 OPPORTUNITIES

6-4 THREATS
No finite set of regulations are in place yet! Bad reputation from small agencies representative offices.

Licenses can be obtained from different authority with UAE.

• Why will customers buy from you and not from your competitors?
• How will you be different from your competitors?

- How to Choose a Cord Blood Bank?
- Make the best choice for your family

7- Process of information collection and understanding the business (lots of studying needed and critical in success of any New Venture Creation. Experienced and wiremen involvement are highly appreciated to make sure the feasibility study is done away from the excitement and self-decieving patterns more common among younger managers).

Collecting, processing, and banking stem cells is a highly specialized industry. When comparing different cord blood banks, remember that stem cell processing is not a service that should be decided by the lowest price or the closest location to you. Expertise, experience, and accreditation by third party inspectors are critical aspects to investigate with any cord blood bank.

Always keep in mind that you are making a decision to entrust your newborn's unique stem cells to a banking service. The most important thing is that the company (and your baby's cells) are there if you need them and that they are viable (usable). Cord blood stem cells are a miracle of nature that are only available once in a lifetime.
Here are the four "Must have" features you should look for in a cord blood bank:

7-1. Make certain that the bank you choose is Accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks for the specialized processing of stem cells.

General accreditation is not sufficient — the bank should be accredited for the specialized processing of hematopoietic stem cells. That means that the bank had their laboratory and administrative procedures reviewed, inspected, and validated and were found compliant with the guidelines established by AABB for the specialized processing of stem cells. Don't assume that a lab that handles sperm, ovum, or whole blood is qualified to process your stem cells.

7-2. Make sure that the laboratory and storage facility are owned by the bank.
Banks that contract the processing and storage to a third-party do not take responsibility for these critical steps, and you don't know what will happen to your sample when the contract between the lab and the bank expires.

7-3. Ask to have the red blood cells removed from your cord blood before it's cryopreserved.
Although it may be more expensive, there are significant advantages to removing the red blood cells from your baby's cord blood sample. Transplant physicians prefer to use samples that have been red-cell depleted, which reduces the potential for A-B-O incompatibility. Red-cell depleted samples require less of a "cryo-protectant" called DMSO, which can cause serious side effects when the stem cells are used in transplant. The smaller the quantity of DMSO, the less problematic the side effects will be. DON'T MISTAKE "VOLUME REDUCTION" for "RED-CELL DEPLETION"! It is possible to reduce some of the plasma and other cells in a sample to make it smaller, but this does not remove the majority of the red blood cells.

7-4. You'll want a bank that has processed a significant number of cord blood samples and has provided samples that have been successfully used in transplant. Ask both of these questions. The number of cord blood samples processed and stored speaks to experience, which is obviously an important factor when choosing a health care service provider. Would you prefer a surgeon who has performed 50 by-pass operations or 1,500? It is also very important for the stem cell samples that are processed and cryopreserved to be acceptable to a transplant physician. Each sample should be handled as if it were going to be used in this fashion. If your stem cell sample is ever required for transplant, it will be rigorously tested for bacterial contamination, viruses, cell viability, and cell count before it will be accepted for use. Good viability and high cell count are the results of proper processing. Verify that samples have been provided for transplant, and request the name of the specific transplant centers. Most importantly, ask if they have ever had a sample rejected for use because of loss of cell viability, contamination, or low cell count.

Important considerations about cord blood banks:

Look for a bank that processes and stores only stem cells in dedicated facilities.
Some banks may store other human and nonhuman tissue. Sperm banks, blood banks, and hospitals perform a variety of processes for numerous applications, but most don't have dedicated facilities, equipment, or staff. That increases potential for cross-contamination or material error and may mean that the processing applied to your stem cells is based on the cost-effectiveness of materials, rather than procedures that will provide the highest yield of stem cells. Make certain the bank performs "controlled-rate" freezing.

Controlled-rate freezing is performed with computerized equipment that lowers the temperature of the sample as safely as possible. This means that the temperature of your stem cell sample is slowly lowered over a period of hours, past the point of freezing, until it is ready to be put into liquid nitrogen for long-term storage. Rapid freezing or simply putting a sample into liquid nitrogen may damage the cells.
Choose a bank that has published data on their collection and processing methods.
This can help validate the integrity of the bank. Published data validates the process because the data must be carefully reviewed by impartial scientific and medical peers and verified for accuracy prior to being published.

Questions to ask:

• How many samples has the bank stored?
• How many of their samples have been used in transplant?
• What percentage of the bank's clients work in the health care industry?
• Does the bank have affiliations with insurance companies and hospitals?
• Does the bank offer hospital or obstetrical caregiver education programs?
• Are programs available for disadvantaged families or families in medical need?
• Does the bank have a qualified and respected medical advisory board?
• Is the bank in a risky location in terms of hurricanes, earthquakes, or airport closures?
• Is the bank financially stable?
• Does the bank offer additional incentives? (Some have rebate programs or added services.)
• Is the collection kit sterile?

8- Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the capability of self replication as well as being able to give rise to diverse types of differentiated or specialized cell lines. They are subclassified as embryonic stem cells, embryonic germ cells, or adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are cultured cells that were originally collected from the inner cell mass of an embryo at the blastocyst stage of development (four days post fertilization). Embryonic germ cells are derived from the fetal gonads that arise later in fetal development. Both of these stem cell types are pluripotent, that is, they are capable of producing daughter cells that can differentiate into all of the various tissues and organs of the body that are derived from the endoderm, ectoderm and mesoderm. Adult stem cells, found in both children and adults, are somewhat more limited, or multipotent, since they are associated with a single tissue or organ and function primarily in cell renewal for that tissue.


Because they are undifferentiated, stem cells have unique properties that may make them useful for new clinical applications. Initially, stem cells were considered as a potential source of tissue for transplantation. The current standard of care for many diseases that result in total tissue and/or organ destruction is transplantation of donor tissues, but the number of available organs is limited. Data on bone marrow transplantation supported the idea of using stem cells in transplantation. Initial studies showed that collection of blood enriched with hematopoetic stem cells had a higher engraftment rate than an equivalent bone marrow sample. Expanding on that idea, it was hypothesized that if adult stem cells from a specific organ could be collected and multiplied, it might be possible to use the resultant cells to replace a diseased organ or tissue. One drawback to this is that adult stem cells are very rare and although they have been isolated from bone marrow, brain, eyes, muscle, skin, liver, pancreas, and the digestive system, there are many tissues and organs for which it is not known if stem cells exist. Adult stem cells are also difficult to identify and isolate, and even when successfully collected, the cells often fail to survive outside of the body. However, despite the obstacles, the theory appears to be sound, so research is continuing.

Approaching the problem from another direction, researchers realized that embryonic stem cells and embryonic germ cells were available in cell culture in several laboratories, and that, under the right conditions, these stem cells might be induced to produce a broad range of different tissues that could be utilized for transplantation. Research on Parkinson disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that results in loss of brain function following the death of dopamine producing cells, underscored the potential of this approach. In the 1980s, studies on monkeys and rats showed that when fetal brain tissue rich in stem cells was implanted into the brains of diseased animals, there was a regeneration of functional brain cells and a reduction or elimination the symptoms of the disease. One disadvantage to this as a clinical procedure is that random pieces of undefined tissue are used resulting in the significant possibility of variability from one patient to the next. A better solution would be to isolate the embryonic stem cells, induce these cells to differentiate, and generate a population of dopamine producing cells. Theoretically, if these cells were transplanted back into the brains of Parkinson patients, they would replace the defective cells and reverse the course of the disease. However, the mechanisms that trigger differentiation of embryonic stem cells into various specialized tissue types are not yet well understood, so it will require additional research before transplantable tissues derived from embryonic stem cells will be a reality.
In addition to possible applications in transplantation, embryonic stem cells may be useful tools in other clinical disciplines. These cells represent a stage of development about which relatively little is known. Close observation in the laboratory could provide a better understanding of normal development versus abnormal development and what triggers fetal demise. Studies on the causes and control of childhood tumors may also be possible. Embryonic stem cell lines could aid in testing the effect of new drugs and investigating appropriate drug dosages, eliminating the need for human subjects. Similarly, such cell lines may be utilized to investigate the biological effects of toxins on human cells.

It has also been suggested that embryonic stem cells might be used in gene therapy. If a population of engineered embryonic stem cells containing a known, functional gene can be produced, these cells might function as vectors to transfer the gene into target tissues. Once in place, the cells would hopefully become part of the unit, begin to replicate, and restore lost function. Initial studies in mice confirmed the idea was feasible. Investigators in Spain incorporated an insulin gene into mouse embryonic stem cells. After demonstrating the production of insulin in vitro, the cells were injected into the spleens of diabetic mice that subsequently showed evidence of disease reversal.

There are many different diseases, ranging from heart disease to spinal cord injury and autoimmune disorders, that could benefit from a better understanding of and the use of stem cells as therapeutic agents. Although work is ongoing, research on embryonic stem/germ cells is limited due to an ethical dilemma regarding the source of the cells. For research purposes, embryonic stem cells are primarily derived from leftover products of in vitro fertilization procedures. Embryonic germ cells from later gestational age fetuses have been obtained from elective termination of pregnancy or spontaneous fetal demise with appropriate parental consent. However, because it is feared that an increase in research using these cell types would encourage the "buying and selling" of embryos for profit, researchers have been asked to use currently existing cell lines rather than establishing new cell cultures.

Though still in its infancy, stem cell research holds great promise for providing important new medical treatments in the future. In addition, study of these cells will impart new knowledge about human cells and early fetal development.

9- Financial Analysis
Assumes a moderate-growth economy, without a major recession.
Revenue refers from processing and enrolment (93%), the annual storage (7%)
Revenue growth rate is depending on growth rate of new borne babies
• Percentage of pregnant family awareness, and acceptance rate.
Revenue growth rate = Growth rate of new borne * percentage of family awareness * Acceptance rate

008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Borne Babies

30%

30%

50%

50%

50%

Awareness

25%

40%

70%

100%

100%

Acceptance

40%

60%

70%

70%

70%

Revenue Growth Rate

3%

7%

25%

35%

35%

10 - Project Funding

AED (000)

Lab Equipment

20,742

Vehicles

1,090

Furniture and Fixtures

892

Total Capital Expenditures

Pre-operating Expenses

3,602

Working capital requirements

416

Total Funding Requirements

26,000




11- Funding Structure


%

AED (000)

Equity cash contribution

30%

7,800

Bank loan

70%

18,200

Funding Requirements

100%

26,000



12- Key Financial Assumptions




Indicators

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

1

2

3

4

5

Total Revenue

30,825,600

32,448,000

32,448,000

32,448,000

32,448,000

Gross Income

19,075,200

20,223,912

19,979,430

19,730,059

19,475,700

Net Profit

11,056,288

12,231,189

12,119,786

11,988,975

11,880,777

Cash from Operating Activities

6,957,584

14,449,284

14,707,266

14,601,235

14,511,589

Dividends

3,120,000

3,900,000

4,680,000

5,460,000

6,240,000

Accumulated Cash Flows

1,037,758

8,145,167

14,541,060

19,109,954

23,344,910

Bank Loan

14,939,376

11,497,502

7,866,129

4,036,633

-

Owner's Equity

11,724,880

20,056,069

27,495,856

34,024,831

39,665,608

Net Current Assets

4,033,682

11,412,444

17,672,333

22,066,699

30,340,057

Total Assets Employed

23,430,689

28,223,857

31,898,153

34,435,489

40,108,972

Gross Profit Margin

62%

62%

62%

61%

60%

Net Profit Margin

36%

38%

37%

37%

37%

Return On Equity (ROE)

94%

61%

44%

35%

30%

Return On Assets (ROA)

39%

36%

32%

30%

28%












13- More Financial Analysis and its indicators:

Accumulated net profit (AED million)

95.3

Accumulated operating cash flow (AED million)

116.4

Accumulated cash flow (AED million)

34.8

IRR with Terminal Value %

50.2%

IRR without Terminal Value %

46.3%

NPV with Terminal Value (AED million)

133

NPV without Terminal Value (AED million)

55.2

Total Distributed Dividends (AED million)

62.4

Payback Period

2.2 years

Feasibility of the Project

Feasible



Achieve break even in less than 18 months.
Implement Partnership program with hospitals and insurance companies.
Increase number of customers year on year by at least 20%


14- Market Size



15- UAE Population trend




16- Birth Rate per 100,000 of the population



17- Project timelines




18- Stakeholder Analysis


19- Future proposed Organizational Chart



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