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PlasmaGen Biosciences will invest in Karnataka at Kolar for its advanced blood plasma production unit, which will result in creation of job opportunities for 500 people. This, according to the company, is the country’s first manufacturing facility by a pure-play blood-plasma products company. The move is to significantly improve the supply-demand mix for blood-plasma derived products at affordable prices.
The company is focused on blood plasma-derived pharmaceutical products for India and emerging markets. The Greenfield facility is spread across 8 acres. It consists of multiple connected, yet independently operable blocks that support various operations of the manufacturing process. The facility will serve to significantly improve the supply-demand scenario for blood-plasma derived products at affordable prices.
The manufacturing plant has an initial capacity to process 5,00,000 litres of plasma annually using a process technology that has been developed in-house over traditionally available technologies, resulting in higher yields of very high-quality products. The facility will produce multiple plasma products like albumin, immunoglobulins and coagulation factors. Additional capacity has been incorporated into the design, allowing PlasmaGen to expand its product portfolio in the future.
The company will be creating employment opportunities for over 500 people, becoming the leading fully integrated pure-play plasma products company in the country. It has already a national presence across 70 cities, covering more than 5,000 physicians and hospitals, through a robust end-to-end cold chain network.
"The new facility is the latest example of our investment in the future which includes advancing our growing capabilities in manufacturing plasma-derived products at scale," said Vinod Nahar, founder & managing director, PlasmaGen Biosciences.
"At this facility, which also houses the largest R&D infrastructure and quality control lab in the blood plasma industry in the country, we would also produce multiple plasma products like albumin, immunoglobulins and coagulation factors," he added.
While blood plasma products have been widely used in developed countries for several decades, emerging economies like India are seeing a significant growth in their adoption due to higher awareness of their benefits amongst the physician community, increasing insurance penetration, rising affordability, and a growing rate of immune deficiency disorders.
The WHO estimates that India requires to process 7 million litres of blood plasma versus 1 million litres today, to effectively address the potential domestic demand. In addition, 91 countries are dependent on imported plasma derived products, indicating a massive opportunity for Indian manufacturers to effectively address the demand in emerging markets.
While the government is playing an enabling role by increasing state funding for plasma product procurement and instituting positive policy interventions such as allowing plasma imports and creating incentives for domestic manufacturers, the current manufacturing capacity for plasma products in India has not been able to keep up with the rapidly growing demand, said Nahar.
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