Voluntary Healthcare Compliance Program To Ensure Fair and Balanced Interactions with Physicians and their Patients.

Cord Blood Registry (CBR)®, the world's leading umbilical cord blood stem cell bank, today announced it will launch Principles in Action(SM), extending a formal commitment the company has made to proactively lead healthcare compliance in the emerging umbilical cord blood banking industry. The new program establishes principles that ensure the company's operations maintain alignment with established laws, regulatory guidelines and marketing standards in both interactions and communications with healthcare professionals and consumers.

"This is a time of unprecedented demand for umbilical cord blood banking, and as the industry leader we recognize the critical need to conduct business in a manner that demonstrates a responsible commitment to healthcare providers, benefits patient care and adheres to the guidelines of medical practice," said Thomas Moore, chief executive officer of CBR. "CBR's Principles in Action(SM) initiative is our compass for business conduct that we believe others in the industry will emulate."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) through the Office of Inspector General (OIG) as well as physician groups, such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and industry associations, such as the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), have all set guidance to define appropriate practices and interactions between the healthcare industry and healthcare professionals.

"We're proactively taking steps to ensure our business practices align with the PhRMA code of physician interaction and with the guidance of ACOG, the professional body of our key partners, obstetricians," said Cornelius Merlini, senior vice president of commercial operations, CBR. "We are also ensuring that all of our communication to expectant parents is accurate, fair and balanced so that they can make an informed decision about cord blood banking with the guidance of their physician."

A key component of Principles in Action(SM) will include education and communication to CBR's entire organization on the parameters for acceptable interactions with healthcare professionals. This includes ensuring that items of value given to physicians are for the benefit of patient care and that compensation for consulting activities and fees for service comply with health professional standards.

"We are embracing healthcare compliance as an integral part of the corporate culture at CBR," said Moore. "It's what physicians and parents expect from us and it's what we expect of ourselves as the leader in the industry."

"It is imperative for all companies but particularly those in healthcare to establish and maintain effective compliance with ethical and appropriate business practice standards, and I applaud industry-led efforts to extend this to the cord blood banking industry." said Paul R. Billings, M.D., Ph.D, medical geneticist and bioethicist; professor at University of California, Berkeley; and medical advisor to CBR and the cord blood banking industry. "This initiative reinforces CBR's commitment to fair and balanced communication to both patients and physicians and establishes controls to monitor adherence to appropriate standards of corporate conduct."