Projects
NZ Blood
Client
- NZ Blood
Project Leads
Location
- Auckland – Northland
In conjunction with The New Zealand Blood Service (NZ Blood), RCP undertook an ambitious project to construct a purpose-built facility that will revolutionise the storage and production of human tissue as pharmaceuticals (e.g., for skin grafts). This is not just a first for New Zealand but also a pioneering project in the Southern Hemisphere due to its comprehensive integration of multiple advanced therapies and manufacturing of several human tissue products.
Along with the Core NZ Blood team, RCP visited facilities in Melbourne that had some similar aspects to gather insights and help align the design to meet local and international standards. While there are large facilities in Australia, none put all the services under a single roof is in the new Auckland facility.
The project is split into two stages. Stage 1 involved constructing the office areas, and the Plasma Fractionation Facility (PFF). Stage 2 focuses on the core production facility, including state of the art clean rooms and other specialised areas for the Cell Therapies and Tissue Banking Facility (CTTB).
The facility features the functional departments including logistics, warehousing, and production. The logistics and warehousing area stores products such as plasma and blood in temperature-controlled environments, including large freezers essential for preservation and Medsafe graded clean rooms, designed to keep all contaminants out, ensuring an environment free of any contagions or contaminants. These rooms will support the production of various advanced therapies, including stem cell therapy and tissue banking.
A significant component of the project is enhancing NZ Blood’s capacity to meet international needs by ensuring a steady supply of high-quality blood and plasma. This will involve sending blood to various countries that require genetically matched blood, as well as establishing a new plasma fractionation unit to replace the overwhelmed and undersized facility currently in Epsom. The facility is also important internationally, as it sends samples around the world to meet unique ethnicity demands – e.g., Pacific Island people require Pacific Island blood.
Additionally, the facility will include New Zealand's first cGMP, ISO, and PICS designed clean room environments for cellular therapies and tissue banking processes, including a cryogenic store allowing for the long-term preservation of tissues, like skin, which can be critical in national emergencies such as the White Island volcano eruption.
The project required meticulous documentation and design validation (from external design validators and Medsafe) to ensure that every aspect of the facility and NZ Blood’s processes comply with international cGMP standards and sterility standards for Grade B and A clean rooms.
Upon completion, this groundbreaking facility will significantly enhance the quality and availability of critical medical treatments in New Zealand and beyond. It will support emergency responses, improve patient care, and contribute to the global advancement of medical science. By integrating multiple advanced therapies under one roof, this facility will position New Zealand at the forefront of biotechnology in the Southern Hemisphere, reinforcing the country's capability to handle large-scale medical emergencies.
