The impact of plasma-derived therapies in Europe – 2026 edition
The impact of plasma-derived therapies in Europe – 2026 edition
Plasma-derived therapies are medical treatments based on human plasma. Plasma is the single largest component of human blood and contains water, salts, enzymes, antibodies, and other proteins, and before it can be used in medical therapies, it goes through a fractionation process where the relevant proteins are separated out. Plasma-derived therapies are used to treat a wide range of (rare) diseases, from bleeding disorders and inhibitor deficiencies, to primary and secondary immunodeficiencies.
The number of patients affected by diseases requiring treatment with plasma-derived therapies is increasing. This trend coincides with escalating concerns over the supply of the raw material in the longer term, and a heavy reliance in Europe on plasma imports from the US.
Against this background, Takeda commissioned Copenhagen Economics to inform the debate by investigating the impact of plasma-derived therapies on patients and the wider economy in 2021. This task included outlining researching policy options to secure the supply of plasma in the future.
The present report is an update of the 2021 publication based on more up-to-date evidence, insights, and policy topics.
We identified the following key findings:
The number of patients that can benefit from plasma-derived therapies is significant. We estimate that around 1 million Europeans are affected by one of the 12 most common rare diseases that can be treated with plasma-derived therapies. Some of these diseases have no alternative treatments to plasma-derived therapies such as primary immunodeficiency (PID), secondary immunodeficiency (SID), Protein C, and Anti-D.
The plasma-derived therapies industry supports the European economy. These economic impacts are manifested through direct, indirect, and induced effects. In other words, further to the direct effect stemming from the production within the plasma-derived therapies industry, the economic effects cascade across the broader supply chain, including subcontractors and the value created for employees.
The plasma-derived therapies industry is constrained due to the scarcity of donated human plasma, and Europe is relying heavily on imported plasma. While some of the market issues surrounding the industry could be alleviated through more effective utilisation of plasma, a re-evaluation of donation schemes would be needed to secure the European plasma supply.
In brief
Europe imports around 40 per cent of the plasma it needs for fractionation, mostly from the US, while patient need keeps rising. Securing supply will require revisiting how donors are compensated.
40%The share of Europe’s plasma need for fractionation that is imported, with heavy reliance on the United States
1.12 millionThe number of patients in Europe with the 12 best-known rare diseases treatable with plasma-derived therapies, among 27 to 36 million Europeans affected by rare disease overall.
EUR 14 bnIndicative total economic contribution of the industry in Europe: EUR 6.6 billion direct, with indirect and induced effects adding a further EUR 7.7 billion
Four countriesThe European states allowing monetary compensation of donors and private plasma collection: Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Their collection volumes run substantially above the EU average, though still below US levels.
43 new centresCommercial collection centres opened in those four countries between 2022 and 2024.
Commissioned by Takeda. Published March 2026. Europe, benchmarked against the United States.
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Related work
Takeda
The impact of plasma-derived therapies in Europe – 2021 edition
Novo Nordisk
The economic impact of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe
European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE)
About this analysis
Copenhagen Economics examined the value of plasma-derived therapies to patients and to the wider economy, and the policy options for securing future plasma supply. The report addresses three questions: how the therapies benefit patients, how the industry contributes to the economy, and how to sustain European supply as demand grows. It covers patient numbers and counterfactual case examples, donor health, alternative recombinant therapies, plasma market economics, reimbursement and procurement practice, and a framework for assessing which means of raising donation rates are ethically acceptable.
The economic contribution figures are described by the authors as indicative estimates intended to show orders of magnitude, not precise measurements. The report draws on selected data from Marketing Research Bureau reports, and full access to those datasets requires contacting MRB directly. The analysis was commissioned by Takeda; Copenhagen Economics states that all analyses, calculations, conclusions and views are solely its own and do not necessarily reflect Takeda’s positions.