BPL in its present form was created in 2010, but its heritage stretches back to the early pioneers of blood and plasma-derived medicines in the UK.
BPL was founded in 1954 as part of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine and is still located today at the Elstree site established by the Lister in 1902, which continued to operate at Elstree until 1978.
In 2010, the UK’s Department of Health amalgamated several plasma-related operating divisions, including the plasma therapeutics organisation and several plasma collection groups in the US, into one global commercial organisation which in 2013 was renamed BPL Holdings Limited with two operating divisions – BPL Therapeutics and BPL Plasma.
The UK’s Department of Health partly privatised BPL Group in 2013, selling a majority stake to Bain Capital. The business benefited from investment and initial phases of growth and development as a private company, enabling full privatisation in 2016 when it was acquired by an investor group controlled by Tiancheng International Investment Ltd. (TII).
Since privatisation in 2013, BPL has grown its investment in plasma collection, product development, manufacturing methods and production technology, to ensure it continues to deliver high-quality products whilst maintaining and enhancing rigorous quality systems.
BPL’s historic site at Elstree has been adapted over many years as a result of technological, commercial and environmental evolution, and developments in plasma protein therapies, quality, fractionation, purification, production, packaging and methods of drug delivery.
In the US, whilst BPL Plasma has operated in the plasma collection industry for more than 25 years, BPL entered the plasma products market in 2015 when it established its BPL Therapeutics US headquarters in Durham, North Carolina. BPL’s global presence has since expanded with the establishment of its BPL Germany affiliate in 2016 and its BPL Mexico affiliate in 2020.
BPL today continues to evolve – balancing this recent growth in international markets, which has contributed to its position as an internationally recognised global brand, with its established UK foundations. The NHS in the UK is, and has been for many years, an important customer for BPL.
On 1 Sep 2022, it was announced that funds advised by Permira, in partnership with the Marcucci family and supported by their co-investors, have completed the joint acquisition and combination of Kedrion and BPL, alongside Kedrion’s existing shareholders. The combination of these two highly complementary companies creates an industry leader in plasma derivatives and rare disease medicines.
