World-leading plasma companies collaborate to accelerate the development of a potential COVID-19 hyperimmune therapy.
Takeda has been working intensively on the development of a potential plasma-derived therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 since the beginning of the corona crisis. At the beginning of April, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and CSL Behring announced the establishment of a global plasma alliance to accelerate the development of a potential therapy to treat people with serious complications from COVID-19. Four other plasma companies have already joined the alliance, such as Biotest, BPL, LFB, and Octapharma.
“Unprecedented times call for bold moves,” said Julie Kim, President of Plasma-Derived Therapies Business Unit, Takeda. “We collectively agree that by collaborating and bringing industry resources together, we could accelerate bringing a potential therapy to market as well as increase the potential supply. We invite companies and institutions focusing on plasma to support or join our alliance.”
Thomas R. Kreil, Head of Global Pathogen Safety at Takeda explains: “The Takeda manufacturing site in Vienna has a 65-year history in the development and production of plasma-derived therapies from which we now benefit for the development of a possible therapy. The global alliance of leading plasma companies to develop a treatment for COVID-19 is an important step. It is no longer a question of who comes first to the market, but that everyone, together, increases the pace, bundles experience and efforts, and that larger amounts of treatment become available. The result will be a drug that belongs to everyone.”
Developing a hyperimmune requires plasma donations from many individuals who have fully recovered from COVID-19, and whose blood contains antibodies that can fight the novel coronavirus. Once collected, the “convalescent” plasma would then be transported to manufacturing facilities where it undergoes proprietary processing, including effective virus inactivation and removal processes, and then is purified into the product.
How to become a COVID-19 lifesaver in Austria
If you have fully recovered from COVID-19 call +43 (0) 120 609 2538 or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and make an appointment for a plasma donation in one of our Takeda plasma centers in Austria, called BioLife. Feel free to share this information within your network and get more details on www.plasmaspende.at.
Plasma donation is a safe process and more important than ever for patients in times of COVID-19
Donating plasma is a very safe process. Due to the current situation, the security measures in our BioLife centers in Austria have been tightened again – among other things, through additional and comprehensive hygiene and disinfection measures and the increase in social distancing in the waiting and reception area as well as in the dispenser room. The safety of donors our top priority. Despite the current restrictions in public life, plasma donations are permitted and are also clearly supported by the authorities in Austria.
Anyone can come into a situation where the administration of a plasma-based therapy becomes necessary. This can be, for example, in the context of a medical emergency, such as an accident, during an operation or after severe burns. This is made possible by the so-called fibrin glue, which can be used, among other things, for tissue bonding, hemostasis and to promote wound healing. Blood plasma also helps patients who are dependent on plasma-derived products due to an immune disorder, such as an immune deficiency or rare disease. These people often have a weakened immune system and belong to the risk group of COVID-19. It is more important than ever that they continue to receive their therapies, and everyone can contribute to this by donating plasma.
About Takeda in Austria
Takeda is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to bringing Better Health and a Brighter Future to patients by translating science into highly-innovative medicines.
The facilities of Takeda in Austria have a long history. What began in 1778 is today a the largest pharmaceutical employer in Austria and thus an important part of the domestic pharmaceutical industry. Takeda Austria serves the entire value chain: from Research & Development, sourcing human blood plasma in twelve plasma centers in Austria, through the production of medicines from human plasma and recombinant products, to the worldwide shipping of finished products. The domestic research and production facilities are located in Vienna, Linz and Orth an der Donau.
Everyday, round 4,500 employees contribute to bringing medicines from Austria to more than 100 countries worldwide and giving people in Austria access to Takeda's innovative medicines. The product portfolio helps Austrian patients in areas such as oncology, gastroenterology, immunology, hemophilia and genetic diseases. Learn more about Takeda in Austria.
