U.S. Blood Centers Pursue an Evolving Role in Cell Therapies
Providence, RI (PRWEB) September 26, 2013 -- As part of its national strategy to involve blood centers in the production and delivery of cell therapies to U.S. patients, Blood Centers of America, Inc. (BCA) announced today it will play a leadership role in representing North American independent blood centers at the upcoming two-day Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Congress hosted by Terrapinn starting September 30th in Cambridge, M.A.
In addition to showcasing BCA member capabilities in the event's tradeshow, BCA will be hosting one-on-one and networking meetings with senior executives of leading cell therapy and cell-based immunotherapy companies.
"The independent blood centers comprising BCA member-owners believe in a future in which they are an important partner in the preparation and delivery of cell therapies to patients,” stated BCA CEO, Bill Block. “Blood centers are a critical part of the nation’s healthcare system and cell therapy represents the next wave of healthcare innovation that we can and will support from critical biological collections, to cell processing, product manufacturing, and even administration of the products to patients.”
"BCA is a network of centers geographically dispersed throughout North America,” cites Lisa Shaffer, BCA’s Vice President of Contracts & Business Development, “with considerable experience in collecting, processing and distributing regulatory-compliant, clinical-grade biological materials. We are actively engaging cell therapy leadership in a discussion about how we can leverage BCA member infrastructure and capabilities in the development and processing of cell therapy products and their safe and cost-effective delivery to patients."
About BCA
BCA is a member-owned organization comprised of 41 independent blood centers geographically dispersed throughout the North America, providing more than 48% of the U.S. blood supply. Along with their core business of providing a substantial portion of U.S. blood supply, BCA members provide a myriad of other services in cell therapies, blood management, therapeutic apheresis, tissue and cord blood banking, etc.
BCA provides thousands of units of biological materials to life science researchers, clinicians, therapeutic companies, or companies doing medical device, diagnostic or therapeutic development work.
BCA assists cell therapy companies with securing reliable and compliant sources for the cells used in their therapeutic products and/or pre-clinical research. Where a client need exceeds the capacity of a single center, BCA can assist with putting in place a multi-center supply agreement around cell collections, processing, storage or other handling.
In 2012, BCA generated over $6 million in custom products and services to cell therapy companies including patient-donor collections for autologous cell therapies in clinical trial and commercial distribution.
For more information about BCA and its services, see http://www.bca.coop.
Lisa Shaffer, Blood Centers of America, Inc., http://www.bca.coop, +1 401.381.0600, [email protected]
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