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Talecris shows patients manufacturing process at Clayton, NC, plant
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – Creating the life-enhancing therapy that drips into Gayle Allison Tipper’s veins every week is no simple feat.
The process begins with donors who repeatedly give their blood plasma and it ends nearly a year later when patients ultimately receive the final product – a plasma-derived protein therapy. In between, the manufacturer, Talecris Biotherapeutics, spends months transforming blood plasma into the life-enhancing medicines that stave off the debilitating symptoms of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1), immune deficiencies, hemophilia and other conditions.
Last Friday more than 50 patients from around the nation traveled to Clayton, NC, where their therapies are made, to witness the manufacturing process and meet the people who make it possible.
“Being able to see all that is involved in producing my therapy in a safe fashion really puts a different perspective on the whole process,” said Tipper, of Wilmington, NC, who receives Prolastin to treat Alpha-1. “Sharing our personal stories as patients with the workers in the plant puts a real face on the condition,” said Tipper, who has attended the event for two years in a row. “I remember seeing many people with tears running down their faces at the plant when they heard our stories and how thankful we were for what they do.”
Mary Kuhn, senior vice president of operations, said the open house “provided Talecris with a unique window into their patients’ lives and helped company executives and employees truly understand the struggles that patients face with their respective diseases.”
Talecris CEO Lawrence Stern welcomed the patient group and said, “We have the privilege of operating the world’s largest fractionation plant here in Clayton. We also like to believe it’s the world’s safest, highest quality and most efficient.”
Patients who use competitor products were among those who attended. Manufacturers tend to limit access to their facilities, but a Talecris spokesperson said the company feels a birds’ eye view into the company’s daily operations fosters a greater level of understanding between Talecris employees and the patients they serve.
This year, Talecris added a tour of a blood plasma collection center in Raleigh, NC, in order to see the origination of their products and meet donors who make it possible. Donors were also present at the open house.
Patients traveled from California, Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Washington and a half dozen other states. Kris and Konner McFalls, from Kent, Washington, traveled the farthest to attend.
