News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Alven Weil
Premier Inc.
704.733.5797
Hospitals, healthcare providers to save with Premier plasma distribution agreement with FFF Enterprises
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (January 2, 2007) – Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, today announced that FFF Enterprises of Temecula, Calif., will continue to be distributor of all Premier plasma and recombinant products for the next five years.
“Our plasma and recombinant products program is designed to ensure participating Premier members have access to these limited-supply products through an interactive allocation system,” said Premier Pharmacy vice president Bryant Mangum, R.Ph. “Our priority is to make sure sufficient product is available to meet patient needs. Four Premier member committees looked at several distribution methods. Contracting with FFF Enterprises as our sole source distributor met the needs of the Premier membership.”
The Premier healthcare alliance initiated a new plasma and recombinant program earlier in 2006 to stabilize product availability and increase flexibility as well as help contain members’ costs in a product area where tight supplies are prevalent.
“The Premier plasma program along with FFF Enterprises, makes certain that unused portions of individual Premier member allocations go into a Premier pool which become available to other members who may have unmet needs,” Mangum said. “Our group effort helps to protect product availability for all members.”
Premier members enrolled in the program receive preferential access to plasma-derived and recombinant products from all the major suppliers: Baxter Healthcare Corporation, BioScience Division; Grifols Biologicals, Inc.; Talecris Biotherapeutics; and ZLB Behring. As Premier’s authorized distributor, FFF Enterprises manages the supply and distribution of plasma and recombinant products.
Plasma products are therapeutic proteins manufactured from human plasma (the liquid portion of blood) or recombinant processes (produced by genetic engineering). The purified proteins are used to manage serious conditions such as immune disorders; blood loss from trauma, burns and surgery as well as hemophilia and other coagulation disorders. Products include albumin; intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG); hyperimmune globulin; various coagulation factor products including Factor VIII and Factor IX; alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor; antithrombin III; and biosurgery products.
The 60-month agreement, effective January 1, 2007, is available to acute care and continuum of care markets.
About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,400 U.S. hospitals
and nearly 70,000 other healthcare sites working together to achieve high quality,
cost-effective care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains
the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes
information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader
in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National
Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in
Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and
Washington.
http://www.premierinc.com