Cordlife secures restricted licence renewal; seeks full trial for client claims
Its scope is limited to storing, transferring or retrieving existing units for clinical use
[SINGAPORE] Cordlife Group has secured a one-year renewal of its cord-blood banking service licence from Wednesday (Jan 14) to Jan 13 next year, the company said on Wednesday.
It remains under strict regulatory curbs that include prohibiting the company from collecting, testing or storing any new cord-blood units. The group’s permissible scope is limited to storing, transferring or retrieving existing units for clinical use.
The company’s human tissue banking service licence has also been renewed for two years, from Jan 14, 2026, to Jan 13, 2028.
The group noted that its operations in other jurisdictions, including Malaysia, Hong Kong and India, remain fully operational.
In a separate bourse filing on the same day, Cordlife announced that it has applied to convert ongoing client claims into an “originating claim”. This conversion is typically ordered when the material facts are in dispute and if granted, would move the dispute to a full trial process.
On Dec 2, 2025, it was announced that Cordlife Group was facing claims of at least S$5.45 million in damages from clients who stored 109 cord-blood units (CBUs) with the company.
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The claimants wanted Cordlife to be declared liable for loss and damage arising from negligence or breach of contract, and for “causing irreparable damage” due to its failure to properly store and preserve the CBUs.
The suit also seeks damages of S$50,000 per damaged unit. Based on the 109 units involved, the company estimated the total claims to be at least S$5.45 million.
Alternatively, the claimants are seeking a refund of all storage fees paid to date, or an order for the assessment of damages.
The company filed the necessary summons and reply affidavit on Tuesday, with the claimant group directed to reply by Feb 3.
The board stated it is currently unable to assess the financial impact of its licensing conditions on Cordlife’s performance for the financial year ending Dec 31.
It also continues to assess the impact of the claims, but states that should the company ultimately be ordered to pay, it will result in a negative impact on the financial position of the group.
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