The company was founded last year as a joint venture between Superior Biotech and Malaysia's StemLife.

Chief operations officer Kostas Papadopoulos said the company recorded revenues of more than Bt200 million this year, double last year's Bt100 million.

In addition, he said the company had targeted collection of 1,500 samples next year, up from about 500 this year.

Papadopoulos said the use of stem cells was rapidly gaining acceptance in Thailand among the better educated.

At present, about 70 per cent of the company's samples are from Thais and the rest from foreigners planning to live out their lives here in the Kingdom.

He said StemLife in Malaysia, one of the Thai company's shareholders, had collected 11,000 samples, making it the third-largest such company in Asia, behind South Korea with 70,000 samples and Taiwan with 50,000.

However, he believes Thailand will have more samples than Malaysia in the near future, due to cheaper costs, a larger population and a higher birth rate. He said the company's price was 30 per cent cheaper than that of similar ones in the US or Europe, thanks to the lower wages here.

Thai StemLife was included last week on the National Innovation Agency's list of the Top 10 Innovative Businesses 2006. In particular, it singled out the company's innovation of using stem cells in curing diabetes, a first for Southeast Asia.

Thus, this innovation will enable the Kingdom to attract diabetes patients from other countries for treatment here.

Papadopoulos said that in support of its growth plan in Thailand, Thai StemLife was expected to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand within the next two years.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation