Plasma collected in Octapharma Plasma’s centers is used in therapies that treat millions of patients each year, requiring the collaboration and partnership of every department in the company. For the first time, their new North American Headquarters vertically integrates donation centers, FDA-approved testing labs, processing, storage, and corporate offices, expanding Octapharma’s capabilities and unifying the entire workforce toward a common goal.
Bringing complex scientific functions and knowledge work together under one shared roof cultivates respect for the valuable role each person’s ideas play in Octapharma’s success. This interdependency is experienced through transparency, permeability, shared amenities, and a streamlined aesthetic. In addition to this cultural bridging, product quality and safety is improved, and flexibility is added to match increasing demand by bringing sample testing – which was previously through an outside supplier – in-house.
The FDA-approved Viral Testing Lab has over 8,000 square feet of automated testing equipment and processes plasma samples from more than 70 plasma donation centers across 24 states. Designing space to accommodate automation resulted in dramatically improved turnaround time – it would take approximately 10 people to do what the system can do in one hour – and reduced human error. The warehouse stores over $200 million of plasma on a fully automated rack and crane system. Protecting these valuable assets was paramount, which is why the facility is designed to Tier III classification, featuring redundant power systems and the capacity to withstand a CAT-3 hurricane.
