KEDPLASMA USA, a Kedrion Biopharma company, has announced the opening of a new plasma collection center in Gastonia, North Carolina. The thirteen thousand square foot facility has the capacity to house 60 collection beds and machines and will employ over 35 individuals in its inaugural year. The Company anticipates additional employment opportunities as the Center grows. The Gastonia facility is a state of the art facility featuring the latest donor management system; Next Gen. Kedrion Biopharma, a multi-national company specializing in the manufacture and distribution of plasma-derived therapies for rare disorders, receives the plasma provided by local Gastonia donors and processes it into vital therapies for such conditions as hemophilia and primary immune deficiency disorders.
The Grand Opening ceremony was held on Monday May 9, 2016 and was attended by local officials, including the Mayor of Gastonia, John Bridgeman, the City Manager, Edward C. Munn, and other city and state officials. Kedrion was represented by Andrea Marcucci, Chairman of the Plasma Business Unit. “We are very proud of our investment in Gastonia,” said Marcucci, “This facility will benefit the local community with job opportunities, and provide donors with the opportunity to help others. And the plasma collected here will affect the lives of millions around the world, who rely on the therapies we produce.” Chairman Marcucci is a member of the Marcucci family and a principal owner of Kedrion Biopharma.
The Gastonia Collection Center opened to the public on May 16, 2016. Current operating days are Monday through Friday with a planned expansion of both operating hours and days over the coming months. Helen Nasser, Managing Director of KEDPLASMA USA, also in attendance, noted, “We are happy to open, this our 13th center, in Gastonia, North Carolina. We welcome the local donors and are excited to be a part of such a vibrant and growing community. The city of Gastonia, its leadership and the residents, have been very welcoming and enthusiastic about a new international biotechnology Company of Kedrion’s stature investing in its growth and development as an emerging medical market.
ABOUT KEDPLASMA USA AND KEDRION
KEDPlasma was established in 2004, as a subsidiary of Kedrion Biopharma, and is headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States. KEDPlasma’s thirteen US collection centers are located in Alabama, California, Florida, New York, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia and employ more than 500 people. Plasma is the vital raw material that allows Kedrion Biopharma to produce therapies that treat and prevent serious diseases and conditions such as hemophilia, immune system deficiencies and Rh sensitization.
Headquartered in Tuscany, Italy, Kedrion Biopharma has a market presence in about 100 countries. In the field of plasma derivatives, the company is the world’s 5th most important player in terms of revenues. Its largest and fastest growing market is the United States, where it has established US headquarters in Fort Lee, NJ. Italy is its next most important market, followed by Turkey, Mexico and Russia. In 2014, Kedrion’s gross revenues reached more than 466.3 million Euros (more than $508 million, nearly $175 million in the US alone). The company employs 2200 people worldwide.
Kedrion acts as a vital bridge; a connection between donors and recipients and operates on a global scale with the aim of expanding patients’ access to available treatments. Kedrion places a high value not only on the welfare of those who benefit from its products but also on the people and communities where it operates.
Following a vertically integrated business model, Kedrion manages the entire plasma transformation cycle from supply and production to distribution. In Italy, Kedrion is one of the partners of the National Health Service and collaborates in pursuing self-sufficiency in the development and supply of plasma-derived medicinal products. The company’s goal is to foster self-sufficiency of plasma-derived therapies worldwide and to bring healthier and less restricted lives to people everywhere who suffer from rare disorders.
Kedrion has five production plants: three in Italy (a new plant in Castelvecchio Pascoli, which is nearing completion, and one in Bolognana, both in the province of Lucca, and one in Sant’Antimo, Naples); one in Hungary (Gödöllő, Budapest); and one in the United States (Melville, NY). A facility in Siena, Tuscany, specializes in research and development of orphan drugs.
KEDPlasma currently operates Thirteen plasma collection centers in the United States, including a collection center in Buffalo, New York that specialized in the collection of Hyper-Immune Anti-D human plasma, four centers in Germany and four centers in Hungary, with all centers having approval by European authorities and/or the US Food and Drug Administration.
State-of-the-art production facilities producing a wide range of products and an unwavering commitment to research and development are the key factors of Kedrion’s success.