Vita 34 International

Vita 34 International is a German biotechnology company and the corporate parent behind Vita 34, the largest private umbilical cord blood bank in Germany. Founded on 28 April 1997 in Leipzig as VITA 34 Gesellschaft für Zelltransplantate mbH, the company was the first cord blood bank in Europe and received a license as a pharmaceutical manufacturer. It was renamed Vita 34 AG in 2002 and moved into the BIO CITY Leipzig, where it established a "glass laboratory" that allows visitors to observe the manufacturing process. In 2004 the holding company VITA 34 International AG was created, and the group expanded into the United States through a majority stake in the Philadelphia-based cord blood bank Cor-Cell, Inc. That US venture was sold off in 2006 and 2007, after which all operating business was consolidated under Vita 34 AG. The company's core business is the collection, processing and long-term cryogenic storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and placenta. Parents can privately store their newborn's stem cells for potential future medical use, and the company also operates a sibling initiative that provides free storage for five years when a seriously ill sibling may need a transplant. Vita 34 has reported more than 80 medical applications for cord blood stem cells and over 1 million stem cell samples stored across Europe. The first transplantation of a Vita 34-stored cord blood preparation took place in 2005, and the company has since supported numerous stem cell therapies, including a successful sibling transplant for a boy with aplastic anemia. Vita 34 International AG went public in March 2007 and has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 27 March 2007. The company expanded through acquisitions, including the Spanish distributor Secuvitia S.L. in 2010, the Leipzig biotech specialist BioPlanta in 2012, the Danish cord blood bank StemCare in 2015, and the Rostock-based provider Seracell in 2017. In 2011 the operating subsidiary Vita 34 AG was merged into the parent Vita 34 International AG, and the combined entity has since operated solely as Vita 34 AG. In 2025 the company renamed itself FamiCord AG, adopting a group brand to support expansion into further business fields, while the Vita 34 brand remains in end-customer business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The old company name derived from the Latin vita (life) and CD34, a marker for blood stem cells.

Vita 34 International traces its origins to the founding of VITA 34 Gesellschaft für Zelltransplantate mbH on 28 April 1997 in Leipzig, Germany. The company received a license as a pharmaceutical manufacturer and, according to its own statements, became the first umbilical cord blood bank in Europe. In 2002 it was renamed Vita 34 AG and moved into the BIO CITY Leipzig, where it established a "glass laboratory" that allows interested parties to observe the manufacturing process. The name Vita 34 is a registered word and figurative mark of Vita 34 AG. On 1 January 2004, the holding company VITA 34 International AG was founded, and the group entered the US market together with the Philadelphia-based American cord blood bank Cor-Cell, Inc. Vita 34 AG held two-thirds of the shares in Cor-Cell, which was the first company in the United States to receive a state license for the storage of cord blood preparations. The company's losses in 2005 and 2006 resulted from losses at the American holding partner Cor-Cell. The new customer business of Cor-Cell was sold on 1 October 2006, and the existing business in February 2007, so that today all operating business is conducted through Vita 34 AG. In 2005, a cord blood preparation previously stored at Vita 34 was used for the first time in Germany. In March 2007, VITA 34 International AG went public and has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 27 March 2007. In May 2010, Vita 34 acquired the majority of the Spanish distributor Secuvitia S.L., its previous exclusive distribution partner in Spain; Vita 34 AG now holds 88% of the Spanish company. In 2011, the operating subsidiary Vita 34 AG was merged into the parent company Vita 34 International AG and has since operated exclusively under the name Vita 34 AG. In 2012, Vita 34 AG introduced a new, barrier-free registry for cord blood stem cells at www.stemcellsearch.org, an online platform that allows free research for suitable donor preparations at Vita 34. In the same year, the Leipzig biotechnology specialist BioPlanta was acquired and merged into Vita 34 AG; BioPlanta's head André Gerth was appointed to the board of Vita 34. BioPlanta GmbH focused on the production of plant active substances for the environmental and pharmaceutical sectors. As early as 2011, Vita 34 AG had worked with BioPlanta GmbH in a research project to develop a production process for antifreeze proteins in plant bioreactors and their application in the cryopreservation of stem cells. At the end of 2012, Vita 34 moved into the new BioCube building complex, directly next to BioCity Leipzig. The storage facility there has capacities for 350,000 preparations. Since March 2013, in addition to the collection of cord blood, the storage of cord tissue has also been possible. This contains a particularly large amount of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), which can form new connective tissue, cartilage and bone, for example. In mid-2015, the Leipzig biotech company took over business shares of the Serbian partner Bio Save and the cooperation partner Imunolita from Lithuania. In September, the purchase of the Danish cord blood bank StemCare was announced. In the summer of 2017, Vita 34 took over the Rostock-based provider Seracell for around 14 million euros, increasing market concentration for commercial storage in Germany. As of October 2018, FamiCord AG had 215,000 stored preparations, making it the largest private cord blood bank in Germany. The stock corporation is headquartered in Leipzig and employed 100 people as of March 2017. In 2014, the company generated revenue of 13.8 million euros and an operating result (EBITDA) of 2.8 million euros. In 2025, the company renamed itself from Vita 34 AG to FamiCord AG. The new name is based on a group brand and is intended to support the Leipzig company's expansion into further business fields. According to FamiCord, the Vita 34 brand will be retained in end-customer business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The old company name was derived from the Latin vita (life) and CD34, a marker for blood stem cells.

• Founded as VITA 34 Gesellschaft für Zelltransplantate mbH in Leipzig, Germany; first cord blood bank in Europe.

• Renamed Vita 34 AG and moved into BIO CITY Leipzig, establishing a "glass laboratory".

• Holding company VITA 34 International AG founded; entered US market with Cor-Cell, Inc.

• First transplantation of a cord blood preparation stored at Vita 34 in Germany.

• New customer business of Cor-Cell sold; existing business sold in February 2007.

• VITA 34 International AG listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

• Acquired majority of Spanish distributor Secuvitia S.L.

• Operating subsidiary Vita 34 AG merged into parent Vita 34 International AG; entity operates as Vita 34 AG.

• Launched stemcellsearch.org registry; acquired BioPlanta and merged it into Vita 34 AG; moved into BioCube building.

• Began offering storage of umbilical cord tissue in addition to cord blood.

• Acquired shares of Serbian partner Bio Save and Lithuanian partner Imunolita; announced purchase of Danish cord blood bank StemCare.

• Acquired Rostock-based provider Seracell for around 14 million euros.

• Renamed from Vita 34 AG to FamiCord AG; Vita 34 brand retained for end-customer business in DACH region.

Germany's largest private umbilical cord blood bank, offering family-oriented stem cell storage with over 25 years of experience and more than 1 million stem cell samples stored in Europe.

• Umbilical cord blood stem cell storage

  Private storage of blood stem cells from umbilical cord blood for potential medical use.

• Umbilical cord tissue stem cell storage

  Storage of cord tissue rich in mesenchymal stem cells (MSC).

• Placenta stem cell storage

  Storage of stem cells from placenta.

• Sibling initiative

  Free five-year storage of a newborn's cord blood when a seriously ill sibling may need a transplant.

• VitaPlusSpende

  Donation program where tissue-specific characteristics are anonymized and shared with a public stem cell registry.

• September offer: cord blood storage from €990

1. 1Vita 34 | #1 Deutsche Stammzellenbankvita34.de
2. 2Tanklager | Vita 34vita34.de
3. 3Nabelschnurblut für Geschwister: Eine Lebensrettungvita34.de
4. 4Vita 34 Internationalwikidata.org
5. 5Famicordde.wikipedia.org