HIPRA has made a substantial part of its laboratories available to hospitals within the province of Girona in order to increase the capacity for analysis of samples by PCR and for the manufacture of ventilators using 3D printing

The multinational veterinary pharmaceutical company HIPRA, which has its headquarters in Amer (Girona), has reached an agreement with the health authorities in recent days whereby part of its new facilities (around 700m2 of laboratories equipped with the latest PCR diagnostic technology) will be given over to the principal hospitals in the province to help with the management and delivery of test results for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

These are new facilities that the company had just finished building at its headquarters as part of its business expansion plan and that were about to be opened. These facilities contain the most up-to-date equipment and apparatus.

“As an Animal Health company, for us it is a duty and an act of responsibility to make use of all the resources that we have in order to help preserve public health in such exceptional times, hence the need to collaborate with the hospitals by handing over these new diagnostic facilities”, explained the company”.

The samples received will come from all the hospitals in the province (Josep Trueta Hospital in Girona, Santa Caterina Hospital in Salt and regional hospitals in Olot, Figueres, Palamós and Blanes) and will be processed in accordance with international protocols and the strictest biosecurity and biocontainment measures. Staff from the Regional Medical Laboratory of the Catalan Institute of Health in Girona (the reference laboratory in the Health Region for the processing of PCR tests for the coronavirus) and from the Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IDIBGI), who have been supporting the laboratory since last week, together with volunteers from the University of Girona (UdG) and from the startups GoodGut and Microbial, will move to HIPRA’s facilities and will be responsible for the entire process of analysis. The company’s experts will provide support with their knowledge and experience in biotechnology.

HIPRA develops and sells vaccines for animals, and also provides a variety of services for the prevention and control of various animal diseases on livestock farms. It uses the latest PCR analysis technology for the diagnosis of these diseases. “This type of real-time diagnosis allows hundreds of samples to be analysed in a few hours, backed up by the automation of the process, so we are convinced that this will be of great help” affirmed the company.

It is calculated that this collaboration will last for 2 or 3 weeks, but will remain in force “for as long as the Catalan Institute of Health needs our help during the health emergency”, announced the company.

Furthermore, HIPRA is also producing parts by 3D printing for the manufacture of ventilators which will be supplied to hospitals. This project is being co-ordinated through LEITAT, HP and other public bodies such as the Free Zone Consortium.

HIPRA has also made donations of protective equipment (gloves, coveralls for sterile areas, goggles and hand sanitiser) to different hospitals and has undertaken to deliver a large quantity of protective masks when orders that are in the pipeline are received.

The company, that is continuing to produce its animal vaccines, has applied specific safety protocols

The company has anticipated and introduced a series of measures to preserve the health of its workforce and everyone around them. HIPRA is continuing to manufacture and distribute its biologicals, which is essential both to ensure the supply of healthy food to the population and to maintain the health of our pets who share our homes.

“We have a duty to keep up our normal levels of production as we make a vital contribution to the food supply chain and to the health of the population with products that are considered to be basic essentials”, assured a HIPRA spokesperson.