DutchNews.nl, November 23,
2014
Dutch blood company Sanquin is
taking great risks with its efforts to move into the American market, the Volkskrant said in a major investigation at the weekend.
Sanquin is a privately
held foundation which has a monopoly on blood supplies in the Netherlands and
which hopes to process blood for the US market as part of its international
expansion. However, it has run into trouble getting approval from the US Food
and Drug Administration, the paper said.
FDA inspectors have recently been in
the Netherlands to check out the company’s operations. Two previous visit
resulted in reprimands for the Dutch company and a third official warning will
have major implications because of the US policy of ‘three strikes and you are
out’, the Volkskrant said.
Sanquin is responsible for collecting blood from
donors in the Netherlands and supplying blood products to hospitals. The
company hit the headlines earlier because of the large pay packets and bonuses
it paid to some board members.
There is also pressure on the foundation to
divide its activities into two, separating its public function from its
commercial activities. Many donors have expressed concerns that blood they give
free of charge is being used for commercial ends.
The company has made major
investments in recent years in order to expand its medicine production
capacity, resulting in the deal to process plasma for the US market.
However,
it is clear the company needs to clarify its structure so that the public and
commercial arms do not conflict with each other, the Volkskrant said in an
editorial.
No comments:
Post a Comment