The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Octaplas, a pooled plasma (human) blood product for the replacement of clotting proteins (coagulation factors) in certain medical conditions where patients have insufficient levels. Clotting protein deficiencies can cause excessive bleeding or excessive clotting.

The product, Octaplas is manufactured by Vienna, Austria-based Octapharma, the largest human protein product manufacturers in the world.

Octaplas is a sterile, frozen solution of pooled human plasma from several donors that has been treated with a solvent detergent process. This process kills certain viruses and thereby minimizes the risk of serious virus transmission. The plasma used to manufacture Octaplas is collected from US donors who have been screened and tested for diseases transmitted by blood, and determined to be suitable donors.

“For patients suffering with clotting disorders, this product provides a viable alternative to single-donor Fresh-Frozen Plasma and provides a reduced risk of certain viral transmissions,” said Karen Midthun, MD, director of the FDA’s Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Like Fresh Frozen Plasma, Octaplas should be matched to the recipient’s blood group to help avoid transfusion reactions. An additional benefit to Octaplas is that each lot is tested for composition of key clotting factors and is only released if the levels are within acceptable ranges.

Octaplas has been used extensively in Europe and other countries. A previous generation of Octaplas was first marketed in 1992, and the current version has been marketed since 2006. All generations of the product have had similar manufacturing processes and comparable ingredients and properties. In total, more than two million patients have been treated with over seven million doses of Octaplas outside of the United States.

The licensing of Octaplas was primarily based on clinical studies conducted in patients with liver disease, liver transplant, heart surgery and TTP. Additional data supporting the safe use of Octaplas for the US market came from prior use of the products in Europe and other approved markets. Use of the product in Europe was not associated with transfusion-related acute lung injury, an uncommon but serious risk of transfusion with single units of plasma.

The most common adverse reactions observed in clinical studies included shortness of breath, dizziness, chest discomfort, skin itchiness and rashes, headache and tingling sensations.