New South Wales-based Aegros is set to construct a fully funded USD 400 million (AUD 608 million) 1,000,000 litre HaemaFrac plasma fractionation facility in Singapore, with a sterile fill and finish plant in Cambodia, to supply the Asian market with local plasma.
The Royal Group of Companies in Cambodia, Fresh Start Australia, and Aegros joined together to create the joint venture, which will be known as the Royal Group Plasma Fractionation (RGPF).
According to estimates, more than 2 million litres of plasma that cannot be handled by the available fractionators are destroyed each year in Asia.
This wasted national resource can be transformed into useful Plasma Derived Medical Products (PDMP) with the HaemaFrac, saving lives and bringing the price of these life-saving medicines down, Aegros said in a news release.
In order to ensure the long-term sustainability/supply of these PDMP, the group will also establish additional plasma collection facilities and collaborate with regional blood collection/transfusion facilities to raise their standards to international best practices.
A complete turnkey solution, including the use of locally collected plasma from both new collection centres and currently discarded local plasma, will be made available by the project, specifically addressing the undersupply of these life-saving PDMP in Asia.
The new facility will also establish a cutting-edge sterile fill and finish plant in Cambodia to package the PDMP produced in Singapore.
According to Aegros, this will be the first sterile facility in the area, serving as the foundation of Cambodia’s biotech sector.
Another advantage of this collaboration is the usage of local plasma in the production of these PDMP, and antibodies to local illnesses are abundant in local plasma.
This means that employing local plasma will result in a better and more effective product for the local population.
Ultimately, the project will assist Southeast Asian countries in meeting World Health Organisation requirements for plasma-derived medical product national self-sufficiency.
Co-Founder Professor Hari Nair said today of the deal, “This deal represents Aegros’ first overseas expansion and in another world first, will use plasma currently collected in Asia which cannot be processed by the existing fractionators.”
Meanwhile, Neak Oknha Kith Meng, chairman and CEO of The Royal Group, said the collaboration is a key step forward in the advancement of health development, with the purpose of increasing the availability of plasma treatment solutions in ASEAN countries.
The Singapore arrangement comes on the heels of an agreement with the Queensland Government to establish a 1,000,000-litre facility in Springfield, southwest of Brisbane.
The project will also comprise a cutting-edge HaemaFrac plasma fractionation facility, as well as 350 high-skilled jobs in the first four years of operation.
