BioWorld International Correspondent

PARIS - A private doctor, Thierry Richard, has created France's first bank of fetal stem cells under the name of Morphéas. The hematopoietic cells will be taken from the blood of the umbilical cord.

Morphéas said it has all the technical and human resources in place and that it will start offering its services three months from now, once it has lined up initial funding. Its aim is to obtain samples from one in 100 births in France by 2009, giving it 8,000 samples a year.

The firm is close to finalizing a collaboration agreement with the national umbilical cord blood bank, to which it will make available its stem cells for the needs of compatible HLA transplants. It also pointed out that its activities will comply with the norms of the French Blood Agency and that its cell bank will thus be a citizens' bank, not just a family one.

To alert the public about its services, Morphéas plans to spend €1 million on a publicity campaign, out of a total budget of €2.2 million. Its funding comes from private investors who have been promised a return on investment of 15 percent annually from the third year on. Investors also would receive one share in the firm's equity for an initial investment of €100,000, entitling them to a proportion of the profits.

In addition, the company intends to devote 10 percent of its annual profits to the creation of comparable national cell banks in countries that do not yet have one.