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Blood products have made Laboratorios Grifols a worldwide well-recognized company in healthcare. In his plant located in Barcelona, Grifols processes a large amount of the plasma previously obtained to produce blood products for therapeutic purposes. These include intravenous immunoglobulin marketed by the Catalan firm under the brand name of Flebogamma. The product acts in the body as an immunological barrier and is used in the treatment of infectious diseases and immunodeficiencies.
BLOOD: A VALUABLE RESOURCE
Blood products are obtained from the proteins in blood plasma, and their importance from a therapeutic standpoint is vital. According to Nuria Pascual, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Director of Investor Relations at Grifols, their true strategic value “lies in the complexity of collection and preparation.”
Apart from intravenous immunoglobulin, the Catalan firm processes other blood products, such as albumin, Factor VIII for blood clotting, alpha-1 antitrypsin, and other hyperimmune immunoglobulins. In the case of albumin, this blood derivative is used to reestablish and maintain circulatory volume when traumatic shock or hemorrhage occurs.
Clotting Factor VII, in contrast, is indicated for the treatment and prophylaxis of bleeding in patients with hemophilia A and acquired Factor VII deficiency, whereas the inhibitor known as alpha-1 antitrypsin is used in replacement therapy for people with alpha-1 protein deficiency, a hereditary genetic disorder that can cause lung disease.
Achieving sufficient quantities of blood products requires a large volume of human plasma as a raw material, given that some proteins are more plentiful than others in this fluid. This is why plasma is practically as valuable a resource as gold.
The process used most often is plasmapheresis, which allows the plasma to be separated from the rest of the blood components, namely, red blood cells, platelets, and other cells that are immediately injected back into the donor at the time of the donation.
Plasmapheresis was developed by José Antonio Grifols Lucas in 1951 and is the only technique capable of producing large quantities of plasma. This later undergoes industrial fractionation in order to produce the necessary amounts of various therapeutic proteins. Fractionation requires that the plasma is subjected to various changes in temperature and pressure, among other procedures, which cause the proteins to separate. Once the proteins are separated, stringent processes are used to inactivate any infectious agents and the proteins are purified and then dosed under sterile conditions, while allowing the different products to retain their therapeutic properties.
FACTORS BEHIND GRIFOLS' SUCCESS
Several key factors have contributed to Laboratorios Grifols’ rise to become a leader in the industry. One of the most important has been the firm’s high level of scientific expertise and specialization, as well as its capacity to collect and produce blood derivatives. “In addition to their efficacy in treating the target diseases, Grifols’ blood products meet the highest safety standards, an essential requirement for this type of product,” points out Nuria Pascual.
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