- B Medical Systems is a manufacturer of medical devices located in Luxembourg
- Its life-saving solutions are used by health workers and researchers in the fight against COVID-19
- Today, its technology helps preserve the integrity of the biological samples used for COVID-19 testing + the therapeutic value of convalescent plasma, a promising therapeutic remedy
- Tomorrow, its solutions will help distribute the COVID-19 vaccines to the remotest communities of the world
As laboratories are ramping up testing and researchers are investigating therapies, the need for reliable medical equipment is of paramount importance. Be it the swabs used for testing or the convalescent plasma collected for treating patients, the specimens involved in the fight against COVID-19 are temperature-sensitive and require very specific storage and transport conditions.
Supporting testing and convalescent plasma therapy
Luc Provost is CEO of B Medical Systems, a company that invented – upon the request of the WHO – the very first solution to maintain life-saving vaccines cold during lengthy journeys in tropical weather or in health centres with unreliable electricity.
Today, laboratories, hospitals, pharmacies, blood centres, pharmaceutical companies, and ministries of health across the world rely on B Medical Systems’ medical devices to safely store and transport temperature-sensitive materials, such as vaccines or blood.
Blood banks and hospitals in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Romania, Mexico, Australia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Oman are using B Medical Systems’ technology to handle their blood supply. Blood is a very fragile resource and requires extreme care. Plasma, which makes 55% of our blood, is even more precious. It cannot be stored at room temperature, neither in a domestic fridge. It must be frozen as fast as possible after collection and kept in a medical freezer specially designed for that purpose until transfusion. The faster plasma is frozen, the better the quality of antibodies and the therapeutic outcome.
With clinical trials of plasma therapy multiplying across the world, B Medical Systems has been doing everything in its power to keep its production running and support the fight against COVID-19. B Medical Systems’ contact shock freezers, which freeze plasma in a record time, and its plasma storage freezers, which ensure stable temperature despite frequent door openings, are both critical technologies used behind the scenes.
Until everyone is immunized
A COVID-19 vaccine will undoubtedly put an end to the pandemic. However, its discovery will only be the beginning of a long fight. Billions of doses will need to be delivered across the world to build a global immunity. The vaccines will travel far and wide before reaching each and every individual. And their transportation and storage may require constant refrigeration.
Leader in the field, B Medical Systems has been working with global humanitarian organizations and ministries of health worldwide to make vaccines accessible to all. Over the last 20 years, the company has helped vaccinate more than 300 million children in developing countries. To support an equitable and global distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, B Medical Systems has pledged full support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and is developing innovative solutions, such as new financing mechanisms, that would allow countries with limited funding to purchase more vaccines.
