BOISE, Idaho — Grifols announced Wednesday that it has begun identifying, screening and selecting volunteer plasma donors who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate at their Biomat USA center in Boise and other U.S. cities. The donated plasma will be used to produce a hyperimmune globulin that could potentially treat COVID-19.
The initiative is a collaboration between Grifols, the FDA, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research Authority (BARDA) and other federal health agencies.
Hyperimmune globulins are plasma-derived medicines that are effective in treating severe acute infections. Through the concentration of antibodies from plasma collected from those who recovered from COVID-19, the hyperimmune globulin can offer precise and consistent dosing that may help immune systems respond to the infection.
Grifols has experience partnering with regular plasma donors across the country through its network of over 250 FDA-approved centers. The company specifically designed and constructed a building in Clayton, N.C., for the processing of immune globulins to treat emerging infectious diseases that was already used during the last Ebola outbreak in Liberia. During that time, Grifols gained knowledge and expertise that will help expedite the product to a clinical trial.
“For individuals who have recovered from COVID-19, donating plasma at one of Grifols’ donor centers to produce a potential treatment for the disease is a way they can help make a difference during this exceptional time,” said Dr. Marilyn Rosa-Bray, Grifols Chief Medical Officer and Vice President Quality, Regulatory Compliance & Laboratories. “This hyperimmune globulin would offer treating physicians a predictable and consistent dosing of the antibody against the virus that causes COVID-19.”
Grifols is volunteering its expertise and resources to the hyperimmune globulin project. The resulting anti-SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune globulin will undergo controlled clinical trials with the National Institutes of Health to evaluate safety and efficacy as a treatment for COVID-19.
Grifols is collecting convalescent plasma donations from over 100 cities in the United States, including Boise. If you are interested in donating, call 1-866-END-CV19 and trained specialists will prescreen potential donors and direct them to their local plasma donor center.
Interested donors must have a diagnosis made with a test (nasal swab or blood) and complete resolution of COVID-19 symptoms at least 28 days prior to donation, or complete resolution of symptoms at least 14 days prior to donation along with a negative molecular test for COVID-19.
Routine eligibility criteria set by Grifols for normal source plasma donation will also need to be met. For more information, click here.
