Clipping Board » Medical Affairs and Administration ─ Medical system, pharmaceuticals, and medical community-related reports
2006.05.27 China Times
Wu Huifen/Taipei Report
Four years ago, when President Chen Shui-bian's daughter Chen Hsing-yu announced her pregnancy, cord blood banks competed fiercely for the business opportunity. It is understood that the First Lady Wu Shu-chen initially favored the cord blood bank, StemCyte. However, due to the strong recommendation of Chao Chien-ming, Shengbao ultimately won the bid. Surprisingly, Shengbao had publicly denied paying a high fee for Chao Chien-ming's endorsement that year.
The first grandson, Chao Yi-an, was born in October 2002. At that time, private cord blood banks included StemCyte, Cordlife, and Shengbao. Regardless of market share or scale, StemCyte was often in the lead. The "First Family's" final choice of Shengbao sparked discussions within the industry.
At the time, the trend of privately storing cord blood in Taiwan was not yet popular, with only about 1,000 to 2,000 people storing cord blood annually. To secure the endorsement of the most influential figure—the "grandson of President Chen"—cord blood banks went to great lengths. It was rumored that StemCyte even prepared a proposal for the paralyzed Wu Shu-chen.
The content of StemCyte's proposal mainly focused on nerve regeneration, urging the First Family to store the grandson's cord blood to potentially help Wu Shu-chen stand again in the future. Wu Shu-chen was reportedly very moved by this, and given StemCyte's high reputation, the company was confident of securing the deal.
While StemCyte was brimming with confidence, Shengbao had already started working through Chao Chien-ming, who was highly favored by Wu Shu-chen. It is understood that Shengbao originally started in the pharmaceutical industry and had close ties with the medical field. After entering the cord blood industry, they directly approached Chao Chien-ming at National Taiwan University, closely monitoring his outpatient and surgical schedules to intensively lobby him. Half a month before Chen Hsing-yu's due date, it was announced that Shengbao would store the grandson's cord blood.
After the announcement, StemCyte was left puzzled, unsure of where they had fallen short. At the time, the media also speculated whether Shengbao had paid a high fee for Chao Chien-ming's endorsement, but Shengbao denied this, emphasizing that Chao Chien-ming had "paid with a credit card." They claimed that Shengbao won based on professionalism and completely denied any involvement in a high-priced endorsement deal. Although the public was skeptical, no evidence could be found.
The First Family's decision to store cord blood indirectly spurred the trend of cord blood storage in Taiwan. With the successive births of Chao Yi-an and Chao Yi-ting, the number of people storing cord blood in Taiwan surged from less than 2,000 annually before Chao Yi-an's birth to 20,000 today, with an annual output value reaching 200 to 300 million NTD.
The most direct beneficiary was undoubtedly Shengbao. They placed Chao Chien-ming's endorsement photos on their website and promotional materials, and overnight, Shengbao rose from the bottom, with their performance multiplying and approaching the top position in the cord blood industry.
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ C……0501+112006052700020,00. html
Prince Consort Recommends Shengbao, Xunlian out
Wu Huifen/Taipei Report
Four years ago, when President Chen Shui-bian's daughter Chen Hsing-yu announced her pregnancy, cord blood banks competed fiercely for the business opportunity. It is understood that the First Lady Wu Shu-chen initially favored the cord blood bank, StemCyte. However, due to the strong recommendation of Chao Chien-ming, Shengbao ultimately won the bid. Surprisingly, Shengbao had publicly denied paying a high fee for Chao Chien-ming's endorsement that year.
The first grandson, Chao Yi-an, was born in October 2002. At that time, private cord blood banks included StemCyte, Cordlife, and Shengbao. Regardless of market share or scale, StemCyte was often in the lead. The "First Family's" final choice of Shengbao sparked discussions within the industry.
At the time, the trend of privately storing cord blood in Taiwan was not yet popular, with only about 1,000 to 2,000 people storing cord blood annually. To secure the endorsement of the most influential figure—the "grandson of President Chen"—cord blood banks went to great lengths. It was rumored that StemCyte even prepared a proposal for the paralyzed Wu Shu-chen.
The content of StemCyte's proposal mainly focused on nerve regeneration, urging the First Family to store the grandson's cord blood to potentially help Wu Shu-chen stand again in the future. Wu Shu-chen was reportedly very moved by this, and given StemCyte's high reputation, the company was confident of securing the deal.
While StemCyte was brimming with confidence, Shengbao had already started working through Chao Chien-ming, who was highly favored by Wu Shu-chen. It is understood that Shengbao originally started in the pharmaceutical industry and had close ties with the medical field. After entering the cord blood industry, they directly approached Chao Chien-ming at National Taiwan University, closely monitoring his outpatient and surgical schedules to intensively lobby him. Half a month before Chen Hsing-yu's due date, it was announced that Shengbao would store the grandson's cord blood.
After the announcement, StemCyte was left puzzled, unsure of where they had fallen short. At the time, the media also speculated whether Shengbao had paid a high fee for Chao Chien-ming's endorsement, but Shengbao denied this, emphasizing that Chao Chien-ming had "paid with a credit card." They claimed that Shengbao won based on professionalism and completely denied any involvement in a high-priced endorsement deal. Although the public was skeptical, no evidence could be found.
The First Family's decision to store cord blood indirectly spurred the trend of cord blood storage in Taiwan. With the successive births of Chao Yi-an and Chao Yi-ting, the number of people storing cord blood in Taiwan surged from less than 2,000 annually before Chao Yi-an's birth to 20,000 today, with an annual output value reaching 200 to 300 million NTD.
The most direct beneficiary was undoubtedly Shengbao. They placed Chao Chien-ming's endorsement photos on their website and promotional materials, and overnight, Shengbao rose from the bottom, with their performance multiplying and approaching the top position in the cord blood industry.
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ C……0501+112006052700020,00. html