Octapharma

One of the largest human protein manufacturers in the world

On March 1 we visited the worldwide leading human protein manufacturer Octapharma Pharmazeutika Produktionsgesellschaft m. b. H. The firm is specialized in developing and producing human proteins from human plasma and human cell lines. Our host, Dr. Barbara Rangetiner, General Manager of Octapharma Pharmazeutika Produktionsges.m.b.H. and Director of Int. Drug Regulatory Affairs gave an interesting plant presentation and an outlook of future trends and developments. Dr. Jürgen Römisch, Senior Vice President R& D Plasma reported about the challenges of pharmaceutical product development in this field.

Through the plant tour, all participants received an excellent overview of the production, the logistics and the R&D activities of the firm. The family-owned company is headquartered in Switzerland, has several production facilities worldwide, employing more than 7.500 persons.

A major enlargement in production and research is planned for the Vienna facility for this year. Acquired in 1989 is the Vienna production site the largest state-of-the-art plasma fractionation plant with almost 1.100 employees. In 2016, the global group achieved a record-breaking revenue of Euro 1.6 billion and pre-tax profits of Euro 388 million.