Canadian Plasma Resources

Canadian Plasma Resources

Canadian Plasma Resources, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Motto Give Plasma, Give Life
Formation 2012
Type Private
Purpose bio-pharmaceutical production
Headquarters Canada
Location
Key people
Dr. Barzin Bahardoust, CEO
Mission Canadian Plasma Resources will supply plasma of the highest quality and reliability for creating treatments that improve and save lives in Canada and around the world.
Website www.giveplasma.ca
Remarks Producer of source plasma and plasma proteins

Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR) is a bio-pharmaceutical company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was founded in 2012 and specializes in the collection of source plasma for further manufacturing and contract-manufacturing of plasma-based bio-pharmaceuticals. CPR is 100% owned by the Canadian pharmaceutical company Exapharma. CPR is one of the only four establishments in Canada that are licensed to collect plasma. The others are Canadian Blood Services (CBS), Hema-Quebec and Cangene, now owned by ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.

History

Canadian Plasma Resources is the first private company established in Canada for the sole purpose of collecting high quality plasma from healthy donors for further manufacturing. Initially, CPR had planned to base its operation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. As a result, CPR established two plasma collection centers in Toronto.[1] Both of these centers obtained authorization from the Biologic and Genetic Therapies Directorate of Health Canada and were granted establishment licenses in 2014. Like similar operations in the US and some European countries, CPR provides compensation for the donor’s time.[2] This resulted in significant controversy centered around the paid donor model [3] and created a divide in the medical community.[4][5] At the request of the government of Ontario,[6] Health Canada organized a public consultation [7] and concluded that donor compensation is not a safety concern. Therefore, it will not prohibit donor compensation.[8] In spite of this, in 2014, the government of Ontario introduced legislation specifically to prohibit CPR from operating in Ontario.[9][10] Several stakeholders including the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) and many patient organizations argued that prohibiting pay-for-plasma would harm patients.[11][12][13] However, this did not change the position of the Ontario government.[14] By that time, CPR had already received strong support from several other Canadian provincial governments [15] citing Canada’s over-reliance on other countries with paid donor models for procurement of plasma products. In 2015, CPR decided to relocate its operation to Saskatchewan.[16] The company’s first facility in Saskatchewan received Health Canada license in early 2016 and was formally opened on February 18, 2016 by Minister Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s minister of Health.[17]

Operations

Canadian Plasma Resources’ plasma collection facility is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Plasma collection is done through automated apheresis. To ensure donor and product safety each center is operated under the responsibility of a licensed physician and certain tasks are delegated by the physician to registered nurses. Plasma from these operations can only be used for further manufacturing into therapies such as immunoglobulin, human albumin and blood coagulation factors, which are among the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines. This collected plasma cannot be used for direct transfusion into patients. CPR is licensed by Health Canada for component preparation and testing. Health Canada is considered a leader in blood safety regulations as recognized by the World Health Organization[18]

Products

References

  1. Payment for blood donors comes to Canada - Health - CBC News
  2. "Donor Compensation". Donating Plasma. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  3. Should we pay for blood? The prospect of a for-profit plasma enterprise tests the Canadian system-MACLEAN'S
  4. Payment for plasma raises ethical issues, Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ, September 2, 2014, 186(12)
  5. Canadians, health professionals divided on paid plasma donations - Health - canada.com
  6. A letter from Minister Matthews to the Government of Canada
  7. Paid plasma donors debated in roundtable - Health & Wellness - Toronto Star
  8. Round Table Discussion on Payment of Plasma Donors in Canada - Summary Report - Health Canada
  9. Province moves to halt pay-for-plasma clinics - The Spec
  10. Ontario pulls the plug on private blood clinics - News - Toronto Star
  11. Prohibiting pay-for-plasma would harm patients - Commentary - Toronto Star
  12. Durhane Wong-Rieger: The case for paid plasma donations - Full Comment - National Post
  13. The Canadian Hemophilia Society (CHS) policy on paid plasma donation - The Canadian Hemophilia Society (CHS)]
  14. December 11, 2014 (2014-12-11). "Voluntary Blood Donations Act, 2014, S.O. 2014, c. 14, Sched. 1". Ontario.ca. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  15. Plasma company takes $400 million expansion out of Ontario - Queen's Park - Toronto Star
  16. Canadian Plasma Resources’ Opening Soon in the Province – Swift Current Online
  17. Canadian plasma clinic that pays donors $25 per visit opens in Saskatoon – CBC News Saskatoon
  18. "Archived - Harper Government Adopts New Blood Regulations - Rules further strengthen the safety of Canada's blood supply - Canada News Centre". News.gc.ca. 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
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