MADRID, Spain, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Grifols, a Spanish company specializing in the production of life saving biopharmaceuticals, today announced the acquisition of PlasmaCare, Inc., a company based in Cincinnati, Ohio that specializes in plasma collection. The 15 dedicated plasma collection centers from PlasmaCare, located throughout the Mid-West and the South, will be added to the 50 plasma collection centers Grifols already has in North America. With this acquisition, Grifols will be the world’s second largest supplier of plasma.
The purchase of PlasmaCare will help Grifols ensure the future growth of its core business -- the production of life saving plasma derived therapeutic proteins. “This is a continuation of our vertical integration plan that began in 2002,” said Victor Grifols, CEO of the Company. “Securing an adequate plasma collection capacity for the foreseeable future is a critical part of meeting the demand for plasma therapies on a global scale,” Grifols said. The company is positioned as a major provider of plasma therapies to critically ill patients in more than 90 countries around the world.
In the past four years Grifols has invested over $300 million in US production and logistics facilities, product licenses, and dedicated plasma collection operations. “The US has always been a key market for the company,” said Gregory Rich, President of the Company’s US operations. More than 50% of the company’s worldwide workforce resides in the US.
Throughout 2004 and 2005, investments in the US have focused on adapting and modernizing the company’s production facilities in Los Angeles, California. Much of this work has been undertaken to upgrade existing facilities and standardize production processes with those in place at the Company’s facilities in Spain. Standardization across the US and Spanish facilities will optimize production processes and assure that all products meet the high standards of safety, efficacy, and quality that the Grifols name is synonymous with.
Human plasma is used to produce a number of life saving therapies that treat inherited rare diseases such as hemophilia, primary immune deficiencies, genetic emphysema, as well as shock, trauma, and burns. Unlike traditional small molecule pharmaceuticals, the production of plasma therapies begins with the donation of human plasma which is then processed to extract specific therapeutic proteins. The entire process from donation to product can take between 7 to 9 months. Maintaining an adequate and readily available supply of plasma is essential to assuring continuous production of much needed life saving therapies.
About Grifols
Grifols has been present in healthcare since 1940, creating innovative products and services based on the values of ethics and responsibility. Grifols’ activities focus on fulfilling the needs of healthcare professionals working in therapeutics, pharmacy, diagnostics and blood banking. For more than 60 years, Grifols has developed, manufactured and marketed products designed to improve human health. We manufacture products of proven efficacy, quality and safety. More information about Grifols can be found at http://www.grifols.com or contact:
Chris Healey Grifols, Inc. 2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 700 Arlington, Virginia 22201 Chris.Healey@US.Grifols.com (703) 351-5004 phone (703) 276-9052 fax
Grifols, Inc.
CONTACT: Chris Healey of Grifols, Inc., +1-703-351-5004, Fax:+1-703-276-9052, or Chris.Healey@US.Grifols.com
Web site: http://www.grifols.com/
