Chairman and CEO's Introduction

In 2023, Octapharma celebrates 40 years of remarkable innovation and growth which has helped transform the lives of countless patients. What started in 1983 as two men with a shared vision to provide haemophilia patients with a safe and efficacious factor VIII (FVIII), has grown into a global company with more than 11,000 employees helping tens of thousands of patients every year live fuller, healthier lives.

In this year’s report, we look back on the early origins of our company and explore the role Octapharma played in the development and introduction of the solvent/detergent (S/D) method for the inactivation of enveloped viruses. This technology played a crucial role in the war against viruses such as hepatitis and HIV, and it remains the gold standard for our industry today.

We also hear how our products continue to transform the lives of patients and their loved ones. Suzanne and Eva share their inspiring stories of living with and overcoming debilitating conditions, while Dr Victor Viersen provides his insights based on case studies into how lyophilized plasma can help stabilise and save the lives of trauma patients in a pre-hospital emergency setting.

We made excellent progress in several of our clinical trials. We successfully completed our LEX-209 phase III study into the efficacy and safety of octaplex®, our four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate, compared to a rival product in treating patients receiving vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant therapy who need urgent surgery with significant bleeding risk. We are hoping to receive FDA approval for octaplex® in the USA during 2023.

The first patients have also been treated in our LEX-210 study investigating the efficacy and safety of octaplex® in the treatment of major bleeding related to direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) therapy.

The first patients were also treated in our ATN-106 study, a phase III study assessing the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of atenativ®, our human antithrombin III concentrate, in patients with congenital antithrombin deficiency undergoing surgery or delivery.

Our research also continued to receive international recognition. Clinical data from the Progress in DERMatomyositis (ProDERM) study into the use of octagam® 10% as a treatment for dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disorder, was published in the October 6, 2022, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In February 2023, European authorities approved octaplasLG® powder and solvent for solution for infusion, the line extension of our long-established octaplasLG®.

This new lyophilised presentation maintains the efficacy and safety of the frozen format – however, due to its dried form, it can be stored at room temperature (below 25°C), representing a life-saving treatment option in both civilian and military prehospital emergency settings, and in locations with limited frozen storage facilities and cold chain infrastructure needed for fresh-frozen plasma (FFP).

We continue to invest heavily in new plasma donation centres in the USA, and we now operate more than 190 donation centres across our fleet in the USA and Germany.

These and many other successes contributed in 2022 to sales of €2.854 billion and an operating income of €522 million, representing growth of 13.7% over 2021 in both cases. I would like to thank all Octapharma employees whose hard work and commitment have made these strong results possible, and the many healthcare professionals and patients around the world who continue to put their faith in us.

Wolfgang Marguerre
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Octapharma Group