By Anita Brikman
July 10, 2024
As we reach the summer months of 2024, I would like to take a moment to pause and reflect on some highlights of the year thus far, as PPTA and our members have been working diligently to make an impact around the globe.
In the United States, PPTA’s State Working Group initiated legislation in Connecticut (Senate Bill 368) and Pennsylvania (House Bill 1795) that amends state requirements to allow plasma donation centers to operate more efficiently. Also in the advocacy realm, on June 5th, 35 attendees from PPTA member companies and allies from the American Plasma Users Coalition (APLUS) participated in the Association’s annual legislative fly-in on Capitol Hill. Six teams participated in a total of 34 meetings, including 10 in the Senate and 24 in the House. PPTA also continues to connect with patients, making our presence known across the country by exhibiting the Patient Notification System at multiple patient community conferences. In addition, I attended the groundbreaking of a new Takeda manufacturing facility in Southern California, where I took part in honoring the lifesaving medicines produced there through the fractionation process and meet some of the patients who rely on them.
It has also been an exciting first half of the year in Europe. This spring, the European Parliament approved revised EU rules to safeguard donors and recipients of treatments/therapies deriving from a substance of human origin (SoHO). PPTA welcomes these policy changes and looks forward to collaborating with all stakeholders, policymakers, and members to ensure a reliable supply of plasma for fractionation. In April, at the very successful International Plasma Protein Congress in Athens, Greece, PPTA welcomed Greece’s Minister of Health who announced plans to develop the first national framework for source plasma collection in that country. Also in April, PPTA participated in the inaugural meeting of the EU’s Critical Medicines Alliance (CMA) Forum in Brussels, which focused on addressing medicines shortages; PPTA’s ‘seat at the table’ is crucial, as PDMPs are included on the EU Critical Medicines List. PPTA staff were also well represented at the first and second Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conferences, which emphasized the importance of plasma collection, availability and supply chain resilience. Finally, I was accompanied by Maarten Van Baelen, Executive Director of PPTA Europe, for a visit to member company Kedrion’s fractionation facility in Italy, which was filled with productive discussions on public affairs, regulatory updates, and patient and donor relations.
Lastly, PPTA staff, member companies, and industry experts have had multiple opportunities already this year to gather and share information about the global plasma industry landscape. PPTA staff have represented the plasma industry at the UNITAR Roundtable in Geneva, the IPOPI Regional Asian PID Patients Meeting in Tokyo, and the American Society for Apheresis Annual Meeting at the Resorts World, Las Vegas, Nevada.