Grifols celebrates 50 years of manufacturing life-changing plasma-derived medicines for patients at flagship site in Clayton, N.C.

Barcelona, Spain, April 18, 2024 – Grifols (MCE:GRF, MCE:GRF.P, NASDAQ:GRFS), a global healthcare company and leading manufacturer of plasma-derived medicines, today officially celebrated the 50th anniversary of its flagship site in Clayton, N.C., whose production of these essential therapeutics during its existence has saved the lives of millions of patients.

Fifty years ago, the site opened as Cutter Laboratories and produced modest quantities of a single medicine, albumin, distributed domestically. Today, the Grifols Clayton campus manufactures more than 14 million vials of plasma medicines annually – about 40% of the company’s total global output – a portfolio that now also includes immunoglobulins, both intravenous and subcutaneous, as well as alpha-1 antitrypsin, specialty proteins and blood clotting factors to treat patients all over the world.

Situated on 700 acres (283 hectares), having expanded tenfold since 1974, it is one of the world’s largest plasma fractionation sites. Its present plasma processing capacity of 12 million liters annually is more than half of the company’s current global capability.

Acquiring the site from Talecris Biotherapeutics in 2011 turned Grifols into a top-three plasma-sector powerhouse. The company has strengthened its position considerably over the ensuing years owing in large part to the manufacturing might of its Clayton campus, in which Grifols has invested more than USD 1 billion to meet the growing demand for plasma therapeutics.

In the 13 years since the acquisition, Grifols has quadrupled the site’s production capacity, during which time the company’s global revenue has grown from EUR 1.8 billion to EUR 6.6 billion and global employee headcount has nearly doubled to more than 23,000.

“The success of the Grifols Clayton manufacturing site over the last 50 years is thanks to the great work of the thousands of employees committed to helping patients have more complete and fulfilling lives,” said Thomas Glanzmann, Grifols Executive Chairman. “Ever since becoming part of Grifols, Clayton has been a company crown jewel, a driver of innovative medicines and sustainable manufacturing practices that has been a major contributor to our growth over the last nearly 15 years.”

“Our Clayton site represents all that is special about our company – trusted medicines, exceptional engineering, sustainable operations and a committed workforce that gives its all each and every day to make a positive impact on patients,” said Nacho Abia, Grifols CEO. “As we celebrate this historic site’s Golden Anniversary, we also look forward to all its future achievements.”

A model of innovation

The site, which operates around the clock, 365 days a year, is an engineering marvel. Its industry-leading advanced robotics span the entire plasma-medicine manufacturing cycle, from fractionation to purification, to filling and packaging of the final medicinal product. Innovations at Clayton are being replicated today at new Grifols manufacturing sites in Montreal, Canada, and Cairo, Egypt.

The North Carolina site’s technology has also been on the front lines of recent public health crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Clayton produced an anti-SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune globulin at a special-purpose facility equipped and staffed with personnel trained in the production of plasma-derived medicines for infectious diseases. This specialized knowledge was applied several years earlier during an outbreak of Ebola, for which the Clayton team produced anti-Ebola immunoglobulins.

Naturally sustainable

Within the Clayton campus, Grifols maintains a 300-acre (121 hectares) wildlife habitat area to protect and enhance biodiversity. The reserve includes eight walking trails and is home to more than 300 plant and animal species. This area holds a GOLD conservation certification, the highest tier available from the Wildlife Habitat Council.

In 2019, Grifols became the first pharmaceutical company in the United States to receive the Zero-Waste-to-Landfill validation from Underwriters Laboratories in recognition of the Clayton site diverting 99% of its waste materials from landfills. It has maintained this validation for the last five consecutive years.

The site is also home to the first LEED-certified building in Johnston County, where the town of Clayton is located. Grifols’ campus here now has two LEED facilities as well as two Green Globes buildings certified by the Green Building Initiative (GBI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving building performance and reducing climate impacts.

Grifols’ involvement in Johnston County includes a broad range of programs and initiatives to help the local communities. Since 2015, Grifols has promoted its ‘Discover the Plasma,’ program, which it developed to enhance North Carolina middle school science curricula while raising awareness about plasma-derived medicines. Grifols is also a supporter of the Johnston Community College Workforce Development Center, which it helped create in 2005 and has since supported a state-of-the-art simulated drug-manufacturing environment to train skilled employees in Johnston County and help them find work locally.

Building on a legacy of commitment

While always dedicated to the production of plasma medicines, the Clayton site has operated under multiple names throughout its 50-year history, first beginning operations as Cutter Laboratories in 1974 before coming under the Miles Laboratories umbrella in 1983. In 1995, the site began to operate under the name of its parent company, Bayer, maintaining this brand for a decade until Talecris Biotherapeutics purchased it in 2005. Grifols acquired the Clayton site in 2011 and, with a mission to improve the health and well-being of people around the world, carried forward the site’s legacy of producing quality products to benefit patients. Today, Grifols employs more than 1,600 people onsite, with another 400 in nearby Research Triangle Park, the largest research park in the U.S.