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April 11th, 2003

Octapharma Workshop – Excellence in Plasma Fractionation


In 2001, Brazil launched a national plasma self-sufficiency programme. Following an international open tender, Octapharma was selected as the key fractionation partner for this project.
In 2002, >110,000 litres of Brazilian plasma was shipped to Octapharma´s manufacturing facility in Lingolsheim, France. The plasma was then fractionated/virus inactivated and the resulting products, namely Factor VIII, Factor IX, albumin and intravenous immunoglobulin, were returned to Brazil for clinical use.
The self-sufficiency programme has yielded dramatic results. Brazil has already achieved 100% self-sufficiency in immunoglobulin, and factor IX, >50% in albumin and around 20% for factor VIII. By utilising their own valuable plasma, Brazil has realised significant cost savings by reducing the need to import finished goods.

As part of an ongoing series of initiatives to support the self-sufficiency programme in Brazil, Octapharma held a two day workshop in Rio de Janeiro on 19th and 20th March, 2003.
The programme attracted a number of acclaimed national and international speakers and over 60 delegates, including blood bank personnel, clinicians, key representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Health and logistics experts.

The first day saw a variety of discussions on Quality issues, including presentations on:

Acrobat file Overview of the Brazilian self-sufficiency programme
Acrobat file Plasma Quality and qualification auditing of suppliers
Acrobat file Quality guarantees & process validation
Acrobat file Plasma processing in the blood banks: impact on final product yield

During these sessions, participants learned how the Octapharma audit process and ongoing blood bank support programme had effectively contributed to improving the quality of Brazilian plasma. Dr Olivier Clairotte told the audience that “the safety of Brazilian plasma is now very high”.

The second day of the workshop focused on the experience of Brazilian plasma suppliers and included lectures on:

Acrobat file System of quality management in Brazilian blood banks: an example from Ribeirão Preto
Acrobat file System of error management: experience from Botucatu
Acrobat file Plasma freezing: the Campinas experience in validation
Acrobat file Documentation of plasma, warehousing & transport: impact on the production of haemoderivatives
Acrobat file Importance of fractionation in Brazil

For more information on this event, please contact Luciana Mensor at Octapharma Brasil: fractionamento@octapharma.com.br or click on any of the above lecture titles to view the presentations

(please note – all slides are in the original language format)
Acrobat file PDF files require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

© Octapharma AG, 2003