Yunnan's self-produced plasma-derived medicinal products make debut at China-South Asia Exposition

Sinopharm Kunming Plasma-Derived Biotherapies Co Ltd plasma-derived medicinal products made its debut at the Sixth China-South Asia Exposition which opened in Kunming, capital city of Southwest China's Yunnan province, on Nov 19. It also made a presentation at the 26th China Kunming Import & Export Fair.

Sinopharm Kunming successfully produced the province's first-ever blood product -- human prothrombin complex -- in a test run on Oct 24.

It marked the completion of Yunnan's first industrial project of plasma-derived medicinal products with an annual processing capacity of 1,200 tons and opened a new chapter for the development of its biopharmaceutical industry.

The Provincial People's Government of Yunnan signed two strategic cooperation agreements with China National Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (Sinopharm) in 2017 and 2022 on the relocation of Sinopharm Shanghai Plasma-derived Biotherapies into Kunming-based Yunnan Dianzhong New Area.

They will also build an industrial production base of biological products as well as an affiliated plasmapheresis center. With an investment of 1.655 billion yuan (about $232.53 million) and an area of 161.7 mu (roughly 10.78 hectares), the industrial project of biological products was formally launched in September 2019.

The COMOS-standard digital plant has been designed and built in accordance with both European and Chinese GMP norms, and has been integrated with smart manufacturing concept and information technology in a drive to achieve whole-process automation, precise and standard control as well as management.

With the technical support of Beijing Tiantan Biological Products Co Ltd -- a unit of Sinopharm subsidiary China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and a parent company of Sinopharm Shanghai Plasma-derived Biotherapies and Sinopharm Kunming Plasma-Derived Biotherapies -- the project went into trial production with the debagging its first bag of plasma on Oct 17.

The project formally rolled out its human albumin and human immunoglobulin (pH4) for intravenous injection on Nov 12 and 13, respectively.

In an interview, Yang Huichuan, chief scientist and vice-chairman of CNBG, said that Yunnan is crucial for Sinopharm to further expand its presence in southwestern China and Southeast Asia. It has a huge potential in the development of biopharmaceutical industry.

According to Liu Ya'na, Party secretary and deputy general-manager of Beijing Tiantan Biological Products and executive director of Sinopharm Kunming Plasma-Derived Biotherapies, the formal operation of the project has filled the gap of Yunnan in the manufacture of plasma-derived medicinal products. It will support the development of blood product manufacturing sector in the province, address domestic shortage of plasma-derived medicinal products, reduce the import of commodities from other countries, and advance the country's biological and medical security.

Yang added that Beijing Tiantan Biological Products will accelerate the full production of the industrial project, and work together with local governments to drive the further development of biological product industry.

In the future, Sinopharm Kunming Plasma-Derived Biotherapies will stay committed to guaranteeing domestic demand for plasma-derived medicinal products, and expand its presence in South Asian and Southeastern Asian states. It will sharpen the core competitiveness of Yunnan's biopharmaceutical industry, and give full play to its functions in the implementation of the country's Healthy China initiative and the consolidation of the country's biological and medical security.