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< Blood Service News - 11.12.2008
The Finnish Red Cross Blood Service (FRCBS) and plasma fractionation company Octapharma AG have made an agreement on the production and distribution of plasma products in Finland. The purpose of this new agreement is to ensure the availability of medicinal products derived from Finnish plasma used in the treatment of accident victims, surgical patients and haemophiliacs in Finland. The two-year agreement will enter into force in the beginning of 2010. There are certain advantages in producing medicinal plasma products from domestic plasma. Plasma collected from the Finnish population contains antibodies typical to the Finnish population, which are important for the health of patients suffering from immunoglobulin deficiency. Further, the origin of plasma has an impact on its viral safety. − This new agreement between the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service and Octapharma ensures that plasma products made from Finnish plasma will be available in Finland also in the future. At the same time it contributes to the less complex and more efficient FRCBS operations as all collected plasma can now be forwarded to a single facility for fractioning, explains Tom Krusius, the FRCBS Medical Director. Octapharma to produce plasma products from Finnish plasma Since 2004, the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service has had an agreement on the production and distribution of plasma products in Finland with the Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, the not-for-profit entity responsible for supply of blood and plasma products in the Netherlands. This contract between FRCBS and Sanquin will continue until the end of 2009 during which time FRCBS will supply hospitals and patients in home-care with Sanquin's plasma products derived from Finnish plasma. Octapharma's products derived from Finnish plasma will be entering the market from the first half of 2010. Sanquin's products supply in Finland will be continued through another partner than FRCBS. The Finnish Red Cross Blood Service and Octapharma already share a two-year history of co-operation. Since 2007, Octapharma has produced Octaplas® a virus-inactived plasma product from fresh-frozen plasma collected in Finland. From the beginning of 2010 all plasma collected by the FRCBS is shipped to Octapharma which will, in addition to Octaplas®, manufacture also other highly purified plasma-derived medicinal products, such as clotting factors and immunoglobulin products. Plasma products made by Octapharma are delivered to the Finnish patients through the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service. - Our range of medicinal products derived from Finnish plasma will expand. In the future, medicinal products derived from Finnish plasma will become available also for new patient groups, such as patients suffering from von Willebrand's disease and patients using subcutaneously administered immunoglobulin to treat immunodeficiency, says Janne Nissilä, the Country Manager of Octapharma Finland. Plasma products are crucial in saving lives Plasma is the liquid component of whole blood incorporating several vital substances such as antibodies, clotting factors and other proteins. Plasma is separated from the donated whole blood, but it can also be collected separately. Plasma products are used in the treatment of accident victims and surgical patients who have lost considerable amounts of blood. Furthermore, it is possible to separate specific plasma proteins, such as clotting factors for the treatment of haemophiliacs. The Finnish Red Cross Blood Service discontinued its own plasma fractionation in 2005, and since then the plasma products from Finnish plasma have been manufactured abroad in the facilities of FRCBS's partners, Sanquin and Octapharma. In practice, the FRCBS collects plasma from Finnish donors and delivers it frozen to the manufacturer for processing. The final products are then delivered to the Finnish hospitals and pharmacies through the FRCBS. The plasma-derived medicinal products available in Finland come from various manufacturers. Depending on the manufacturer, the products can be made from Finnish, European or American plasma. Hospitals purchase products following competitive bidding. Products used in the home-care of haemophiliacs are reimbursed by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) and chosen according to each patient's individual needs. In 2007, the sales of plasma products and other similar medicinal products produced using recombinant technologies totalled up to MEUR 44 in Finland. Of the total, medicinal products supplied through the FRCBS amounted to MEUR 27.
For more information please contact: The Finnish Red Cross Blood Service Octapharma Nordic/Finland © Veripalvelu 2010 Legal notice |
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