LOS ANGELES, October 6 /PRNewswire/ --
- The new facility, based in Los Angeles, California is anticipated to be operational in 2013 and will expand the Company's ability to supply its new generation of intravenous immune globulin into the foreseeable future.
Today, Grifols SA (Grifols), a global healthcare company based in Barcelona, Spain, broke ground on a new 92,000 square foot, intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) production facility at its manufacturing complex in Los Angeles, California. This new facility is the initial realization of the US$600 million long-range investment plan announced in October 2007 to increase production for Grifols lifesaving coagulation therapies, immune globulins and albumin. Based on construction schedules and rigorous regulatory licensing requirements, it is expected that the facility will become operational for production of the Company's new generation IVIG product in early 2013.
The new facility represents an expansion of Grifols' existing manufacturing capabilities in Los Angeles. "We are committed to continuing to grow our state of the art facilities in Los Angeles and giving back to the community through the creation of new employment opportunities and economic growth," said Gregory Rich, President of Grifols, Inc. the US subsidiary of Grifols, SA. The new facility will provide approximately 300 new jobs to the Los Angeles community and represents an investment of greater than US$50 million.
"We commend Grifols' increased commitment to the production of immune globulin therapy. Assuring continued access to this lifesaving medicine means countless people who live with primary immunodeficienies, such as my son, can lead healthy and productive lives," said Marcia Boyle, President and Founder of the Immune Deficiency Foundation, the national patient organization for persons with primary immune diseases. Demand for IVIG has seen steady growth over the past ten years in the US, Europe and other international markets.
Grifols' new production facility will almost double the company's IVIG production capacity and will utilize the same proprietary technologies and process flow designs employed at the company's existing IVIG production facility in Barcelona, Spain that have been pioneered by Grifols Engineering S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Grifols S.A. In effect, the new facility will be a twin of the Company's IVIG facility in Barcelona, Spain that was licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year.
Building this additional production capacity represents one more step in Grifols' multi-year global growth plan to meet increasing patient need for lifesaving plasma therapies. Other elements of the long-range investment plan include expanding plasma collection capacity and additional production and testing facilities. Earlier this year the Company obtained FDA approval of its state of the art bulk processing and aseptic filling facility at its Los Angeles manufacturing complex.
About Grifols
Grifols SA (Grifols) is a global healthcare company founded in 1940 in Barcelona, Spain. Today Grifols products and services are provided in more than 90 countries around the world. Grifols specializes in the production of plasma therapies to treat a variety of life-threatening diseases and conditions. Grifols operates 80 plasma donor centers throughout the US and has manufacturing facilities located in Barcelona, Spain and Los Angeles, California. For more information about Grifols please visit www.grifols.com.
Web site: http://www.grifols.com
Chris Healey of Grifols, Inc., +1-703-351-5004, or fax, +1-703-276-9052, Chris.Healey@Grifols.com
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