Blood firm shares in healthy state

The market for blood replacement products is growing

A Wrexham-based healthcare company has launched a blood plasma substitute for treating patients with severe blood loss.

Shares in Maelor Pharmaceuticals, based in Newbridge in Wrexham, leapt up when it unveiled its product, called Volplex, on Monday.

It is our first pharmaceutical product, and we are keen to get in the market

Stephen Appelbee

The firm, which was formed 10 years ago, deals in both pharmaceutical products and medical devices.

Synthetic plasma replacement products like Volplex are increasingly used in place of blood for patients suffering from trauma or surgery.

They are used when a patient cannot wait for blood types to be matched, but needs an immediate increase in the volume of blood flowing through their circulatory system.

Shares in Maelor rose by 12% to 38.5p following the unveiling of the product.

Maelor chief executive Stephen Appelbee said he was delighted to have launched Volplex, only three months after it secured patent approval.

"It is our first pharmaceutical product, and we are keen to get in the market," he said.

Stephen Appelbee: Delighted at launch

When the product gained its patent back in July, Mr Appelbee heralded the licence as a momentous achievement, and a major milestone for the company.

According to Maelor, EU sales of blood plasma replacement products are currently valued at around £53m.

Earlier this year, Tyne and Wear firm Cambridge Laboratories became the distributor for Volplex.

Cambridge Laboratories Chief Executive Mark Evans said the Maelor product was the "state-of-the-art in resuscitation fluid".

Eleven people are employed at Maelor Plc, a 'virtual firm' which contracts out development and distribution work.

The company has two more products currently in clinical development.