Kedrion has recently finalised two important agreements for the purchase of four plasma collection centres, two in the United States (Florida and Alabama) and two in Germany (Bavaria).
The agreement to buy the two US centres, Pensacola (Florida) and Mobile (Alabama), has been signed with Life Therapeutics, a leader in plasma collection for therapeutic and diagnostic applications based in Georgia (USA).
With reference to the Bavarian centres, the agreement underlines the importance of the long and consolidated partnership between the Blood Banks of the Bavarian Red Cross (“BSD”) and the Italian company: Kedrion has always worked in collaboration with health services and institutions, with the Italian ones in particular. The agreement is oriented to improve the services for patients, and, in particular, to improve the availability of the plasma-derived products for the treatment of high social impact pathologies. The agreement is supposed to realize, under some conditions and with a Closing date supposed to be between October 2008 and March 2009, the change of property of the centres of Ingolstadt, which is already active and operating, and Bayreuth, which is going to be realized shortly.
"The goal of the Bavarian partner was to intensify the good relationship between the two companies and to garantee our employes an interesting and safe employment with a partner who provides the public with the same quality of the plasma products as we did" – stated Franz Weinauer, CEO of the Bavarian Red Cross Blood Bank System.
Kedrion (650 employees and a turnover of over 155 million euros in 2006) has two productive plants (in Bolognana, near Lucca, and in Sant’Antimo, near Naples), is present in over 40 countries and is sixth in the world by volume of fractioned plasma.
"This purchase – stated Paolo Marcucci, President and CEO Kedrion – is part of the strategy for growth and creation of value which the Company has begun through a better “vertical integration” of its operations, from stocks of raw materials, to the production and distribution of pharmaceuticals and increased attention to foreign markets".
"By buying the four centres, together with the other centres in the USA – concluded Paolo Marcucci – our Company cover nearly 50% of its requirement of standard source plasma and 100% of hyperimmune plasma (a plasma rich in special antibodies used to produce hyperimmune immunoglobulins)".
