Consortium for Plasma Science

The Consortium for Plasma Science (CPS) was a collaborative research organization founded in 1998 by the world's leading plasma fractionation companies. Its members included Baxter Healthcare, Bayer, Aventis Behring, Alpha Therapeutic, and Nabi. The group's primary objective was to identify and fund research into new technologies for the inactivation and removal of pathogens from blood plasma, with a specific focus on prions and emerging viruses. By leveraging collective resources, the CPS aimed to improve the safety profile of plasma-derived medicinal products such as clotting factors and immunoglobulins. The consortium played a significant role in advancing industry-wide safety standards before its activities were largely concluded. Its work was instrumental in addressing the threat of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in the blood supply.