An answer to Type I diabetes and cerebral palsy could be less than two years away for patients in Calcutta.

Singapore-based CordLife, the leading network of private cord blood banks in the Asia-Pacific, has pledged to bring in fruits of latest global research in stem cell therapy to the city soon, on the back of its cord blood banking facility.

“Type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy are two critical areas where stem cell transplant could soon provide a cure. We are hopeful of bringing home some therapeutic products in the next 18 months,” Mark Kirkland, the chief scientific officer of CytoMatrix, an associate of CordLife, said on Tuesday.

Kirkland was in town for the official flag-off of CordLife’s city facility near Joka with a storage capacity of 150,000 units, rolled out by CordLife Sciences India, an equity-partnership venture with city-based Strassenburg Pharmaceuticals.

“Therapy is a crucial part and the driver of stem cells business. Over the past eight years, it’s been all about maturing and growing and finding some landing points for such therapies which are in advanced stages of trials,” said Steven Fang, the Group CEO of CordLife Ltd.

CordLife will bring technologies from within the group’s portfolio and its global partners in the Netherlands, Australia and Indonesia through tie-ups with institutions locally to spur therapeutic applications in India. The company committed Rs 30 crore to make stem cell therapy “a reality and cord blood banking accessible across India”.

Efficacy trials in stem cell therapy for Type I diabetes and cerebral palsy have reached Phase II at the University of Florida and Duke University in the US. “A clutch of kids with cerebral palsy are undergoing treatment with stem cells, returning dramatic results,” Kirkland said.

Regenerative medicine, individual vaccines and cost-effective cell therapy are the three key areas of future application of stem cells.