Gradipore announced an agreement with Advantek Biologics Limited of Hong Kong, China for a three-stage application of the company's Gradiflow separations technology for use in intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) fractionation. After the initial phase of the agreement, Gradipore will send a commercial scale Gradiflow unit to Hong Kong for the production of blood products. The final phase will involve the potential adoption of the Gradiflow technology into a processing plant on the mainland of China. The deal will generate immediate revenue for Gradipore and may pave the way for foreign product and service entry into the lucrative China and Asian biological marketplaces.
Advantek plans to use the Gradiflow separation system to isolate plasma proteins especially IVIG from waste streams of current technology and also significantly upgrade biosafety issues with Gradipore's patented viral removal and prion removal advantages. Advantek's incorporation of the Gradiflow separation and isolation technology may provide the company with significant safety advantages and more accurate separation results when compared to the presently-used methods, as well as time and cost advantages through increased IVIG yields. Purified IVIG is used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and HIV-infected patients.
"Recently, there has been an increasing demand for high-quality plasma proteins in the Asian market," said Dr. Bing Lou Wong, CEO of Advantek Biologics. "Our objective is to become a leading Asian provider of plasma products for use in surgical procedures as well as treatment of specific diseases." Gradiflow technology has shown promising results in its ability to remove bacterial, viral and prion contaminants, and Advantek is hopeful that this novel and exciting technology can be applied to ensure the safety of our varied plasma products and meet stringent regulatory requirements. The higher yield and greater biosafety of the Gradiflow process will contribute significantly to Advantek producing biological products of superior quality."
The world market for blood products was estimated in early 2000 to be US$6.5 billion of which Asia (excluding Japan) represented US$400 million (7%). It is estimated that the current world market may be closer to US$10 billion. The Asian market is growing at an annual rate of 15-20%. China represents 47% of the Asian market, which at current rates will grow to US$550 million in 2003, US$850 million in 2005 and US$1.5 billion in 2008.
"From a marketing standpoint, the Chinese marketplace is a lucrative one that has provided significant challenges in terms of penetration," said Robert Lieb, Global CEO of Gradipore. "This deal is important on two levels. Gradiflow has the potential to provide increased yields of Advantek's biologics while enhancing biosafety, and operate effectively on an industrial production scale. In addition, we are hopeful that the successful completion of this agreement will lead to widespread availability of Gradiflow technology in the Asian markets, including Hong Kong and Greater China."