SK Plasma announced on June 10 that it was selected as the final supplier of Albumin 20% Inj. in the 2020 blood product bidding organized by NATO Procurement Service. SK Plasma is the first Korean pharmaceutical bio company to supply drugs to NATO.
SK Plasma last year bid for the NATO Procurement Agency's "Afghanistan National Army Trust Fund (ANATF) Drug Procurement Project" and was notified of its final result in 10 months.
The support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was also a big boost to SK Plasma's selection as the final supplier through competition with global blood products companies.
The ministry has made diplomatic efforts to allow domestic companies to participate in the project that only NATO members could participate in. It also held a briefing session on participation in the NATO procurement market from 2018 and supported domestic companies to participate in the bidding.
SK Plasma is planning to supply Albumin to NATO as early as the third quarter of this year. SK Plasma's latest order is worth about $900,000. The industry's assessment is that the first business performance for an international organization is not small.
NATO Procurement Agency was established in 2012 to effectively carry out purchasing activities, such as logistics and system support for allies. SK Albumin, which has been confirmed to be supplied, is expected to be provided to the Afghan military and police, which are suffering from an absolute shortage of essential medicines due to the long civil war.
Kim Yoon-ho, CEO of SK Plasma, said, "The most important selection criteria for international organizations such as NATO is trust in excellent technology. As this supply proved the excellence and global competitiveness of SK Plasma's blood products, we will further accelerate our global expansion in the future."
SK Plasma plans to continue to participate in bidding for international organizations such as NATO. It also plans to participate in international procurement of UN-affiliated organizations to help promote international health and medical services through the supply of blood products.
SK Plasma is a pharmaceutical company specializing in blood products that was spun off from SK Chemicals in 2015, and is currently carrying out full-scale global marketing, including being selected as the final supplier of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG-SN) in a bid for Brazil in September last year.
Meanwhile, SK Plasma's Andong plant located in Andong Bio Industrial Complex in North Gyeongsang Province is a state-of-the-art production facility that produces 600,000 liters of blood products annually.
