Green Cross, a South Korean biopharmaceuticals company, said Monday that it has opened its eighth blood center in San Antonio, Texas, aiming to strengthen its position in the U.S. market.

The new blood center ― established by Green Cross America, which handles the firm’s U.S. operations ― is able to produce 60,000 liters of general and specialized blood plasma products.

With the addition of the Texas center, GCAM’s eight centers are now able to supply up to 400,000 liters of blood plasma products across the U.S, the company said.

GCAM said it will make active efforts to secure more suppliers of source plasma ― the basic ingredient for making various blood plasma-derived products ― in time for the opening of its new biologics plant in Montreal, Canada, which began construction in June.

Upon completion by 2019, the plant will manufacture intravenous immunoglobulin ― a key therapeutic solution used to treat patients with infectious and immune disorders ― and albumin, used to restore blood volume and treat burns.

“Green Cross opened three new blood centers in the U.S. this year alone, and is planning to add one or two more,” said GCAM CEO Bae Jae-hyun.

“Over the next 10 years, the company plans to operate a total of 30 blood centers and secure more than 1 million liters of source plasma,” Bae said.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)