ProFactor Pharma Ltd (PFP) was established to commercialise and supply recombinant blood factors for the treatment of haemophilia to a severely undersupplied world market, leading to the development of a significantly profitable BioSimilars (biogenerics) business. Haemophilia is treated with clotting factors sourced either from recombinant manufacture or from human plasma.
The lead product is recombinant Factor VIII (rFVIII) – probably one of the most expensive compounds in the world – gram for gram more expensive than diamonds, gold, oil and most other drugs. Current sales of rFVIII are US$4.6BN1 (2011), and the market is constantly growing. However, even at this significant level of sales, and with an almost equivalent value of plasma derived product (pdFVIII), according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Baxter, a major supplier, 75% of the patient population receive inadequate or no treatment at all. Patients not properly treated are typically hospitalised 3-4 times per year at a considerable cost.
