As of July 9, the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (IPST) is now able to provide Portuguese hospitals with medicines that Kedrion produces by fractionating Portuguese plasma from blood donations from charitable donors, following the publication of Ordinance 173/2024/1 of July 8, which approved the list of blood products and other services provided by IPST IP. The availability of these medicines continues to fulfill the IP Strategic Plan (2020-2022 and 2024-2026), an IPST objective which aims to contribute to the country’s self-sufficiency in a number of plasma-derived products.
Following an international public tender launched in 2021, Kedrion was awarded the contract to fractionate national plasma. The therapeutic solutions resulting from this tender will be the medicines Albumin, Normal Human Immunoglobulin and Coagulation Factor VIII, which are used to treat a wide variety of congenital and acquired diseases, and in many cases can save the lives of patients.
The IPST Board of Directors states that “It is with great satisfaction that, after much effort and close work with the hospital blood services participating in the tender and with Kedrion, the company which was awarded the 2021/2024 multiannual public tender, IPST IP can now continue the process of delivering these medicines to hospitals that need them, thus contributing to the gradual reduction of dependence on imports, in accordance with the National Strategic Program. The use of Portuguese plasma makes it possible to produce medicines that, in many cases, can save lives and treat thousands of people who suffer from serious illnesses.”
These medicines were produced from 60,000 liters of plasma collected in Portugal during the year 2023. This was the largest shipment of Portuguese plasma to the pharmaceutical industry.
Joana Silvério Marques, Country Sales Manager said, “Winning this tender has allowed Kedrion to strengthen its presence in the country, and it gives us great satisfaction to contribute to the use of Portuguese plasma. The plasma reserve is not infinite, it is a scarce and highly valuable biological resource that must not be wasted, and it is our duty to make people and institutions aware of this reality. The demand for these medicines continues to grow, especially the demand for non-specific Immunoglobulins, which is why close collaboration between the plasma fractionation industry and IPST is so essential.”
