It is my honor to introduce to you this morning Senator Chris Murphy from the great Nutmeg State of Connecticut.

The first time I ever spoke to Chris was eight years ago when he called my home one evening and asked if he could speak to my wife. You’re right! To my wife, Deborah, not me!

He had heard that Deborah had worked for the Speaker of the House in Washington many years ago and wanted to pick her brain about politics in Washington. Chris had just launched his candidacy to unseat one of the most powerful politicians in the State of Connecticut, Congresswoman Nancy Johnson, who had served in the House of Representatives in Washington for 24 years. Congresswoman Johnson was untouchable in North West Connecticut. Chris defeated her, and went on to serve in the House of Representatives for four years.

Three years ago Chris launched his candidacy for the vacant senate seat left by former Senator Joe Lieberman, and handily defeated the Republican candidate, Linda McMahon, wife of the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, who spent more than $50 million of her own money in the campaign.

Today Senator Chris Murphy is the youngest senator in the U.S. Senate at 39 years of age, as, indeed, was another senator some years ago by the name of Joe Biden. Chris has always been a quick learner and a very hard working public servant. He serves on three powerful Senate Committees: the Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions; the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and the Joint Economic Committee.

Chris will be remembered nationally for being the senator who spent days and nights in Newtown, CT, just over a year ago after the Sandy Hook massacre in the elementary school with the parents and families of the 28 young children and adults who were murdered by a deranged young man with a gun. Chris took it personally, especially since he had two boys of the same age as the kids who were killed. And Newtown was, after all, part of his district when he served as a Congressman.

Before the Ukraine became a world headline and Crimea was invaded by Russia, Chris took the initiative with Senator John McCain, and they quietly made two private trips to Kiev to assess the situation and brief their colleagues in the Senate.

This year Chris won the prestigious “Mission Possible Champion of the Year” award from Miriam’s Kitchen here in Washington. He has championed efforts to expand services for at-risk veterans and to approve the availability of housing vouchers for displaced individuals. He lived in Washington, D.C. for a week solely on food stamps in order to bring attention to the awful nutritional challenges facing the poor and disadvantaged in our towns and cities.

Chris Murphy is the real thing. He gives credence to the fact that public service is a noble and worthwhile calling.

It is my great pleasure to introduce to you my dear friend and my senator, Senator Chris Murphy.

Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association Annual Meeting

J.W. Marriott Hotel

Washington, D.C.,

June 26, 2014

Last week my wife, Deborah, and I had the honor of being invited to Washington, D.C. to attend the Swearing-In of the new Senator from the State of Connecticut, Chris Murphy (no relation). He is the youngest Senator serving in the Senate. He is 39 years of age and married.  He and his wife, Cathy, have two handsome boys. Owen is 4 years old, Rider is almost 2.  I love this charming video of the “family” being sworn in.

At times we can be cynical about politics and our politicians. And at times they deserve it.  However I have had the privilege of knowing one who is a committed public servant.  Some in our industry may remember meeting Chris at the PPTA Forum in Washington, D.C. in 2009. He was our keynote speaker. He spoke about Healthcare issues.

We have supported Chris from his first race for the House of Representatives six years ago. He is intelligent, thoughtful, moderate, and a good family man. For him to be a politician is an honor and a service, a service to the people of his State and, now, to the country.

On Thursday, January 3, we were honored to be in the Senate Gallery when Chris was officially sworn in by Vice-President Joe Biden. For me it was the first time being in the Senate Chamber. The room was so much smaller than I imagined it. And yet that room exuded power, prestige, responsibility. Right in front of me was an extraordinary group of men and women who have served this country with exceptional courage and commitment, albeit with their human frailties, people such as John Kerry, John McCain, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Barbara Mikulski, Diane Feinstein, and many others. It was an extraordinary honor to be there.

That evening Chris was kind enough to invite us to join him and his family with a few close friends for a private dinner in a restaurant in Washington. I watched Chris hold one of the boys on his lap and feed him, later he was taking a video of the two boys on his iPhone rolling on the floor playing in the corner of the room. Still later he had to get under a table to pull Rider out, who was insisting on cleaning people’s shoes!

At the end he walked out of the restaurant carrying Owen in his arms while Cathy carried Rider. The first day in the life of a Senator. And I thought: As long as he remains this grounded, Chris Murphy will be a great senator. He has already been assigned to serve on the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), as well as the Joint Economic Committee. Our senator is on the move.

Last month the Plasma Protein industry celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of its industry association. The celebration was held in Washington, D.C. prior to its annual meeting. It was a festive atmosphere for all of us to walk down memory lane and celebrate some great accomplishments.

It was formed in 1992 under difficult circumstances. The tragedy of AIDS infection in the hemophilia community was just behind us. The suffering and anger in the hemophilia community was still enormous. There was a climate of distrust and disregard for the industry at large. Political barriers were raised especially in Europe through EU Directives. The World Health Organization at the time looked down on private industry as suspicious.

Three giants emerged from within the industry and insisted on the formation of an association. Otto Schwarz, who was one of the founders of Immuno in Vienna, Austria, insisted on the need to develop an industry view and not just a company view. Ralph Galustian, who was the president of Bayer’s Biological Division, created the necessary funding. And Guelfo Marcucci, the founder of Kedrion, Italy, demanded a full international participation. I have had the honor of knowing all three over the years, and I admire each one hugely.

Today the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association can be proud of its accomplishments. No patient using plasma products has contracted AIDS since 1986. Safety is a reality in the industry. Access to products, quality and affordability are demanded by the industry. It’s a good place to be.

At the beginning of this week Kedrion announced that the Italian government had contributed 150 million euros to the company in return for 18.6 % ownership. This is very important for the company in many ways. First of all, it ensures that they will have access to capital for its growing U.S. operations as well as for its other international ventures. But it is also a real gesture of approval and confidence on behalf of the Italian government headed by its current Primer Minister, the brilliant economist Mario Monti.

This must be a crowning moment for the Marcucci Family, especially for its founder, the indomitable Guelfo Marcucci. I have always admired Guelfo immensely. He started off making cardboard boxes in the province of Lucca, he worked in a bakery in Chicago, and then created Kedrion back in Italy. I am honored to say that I worked for him and I consider him a dear friend.

Just recently I read this announcement from Baxter International who, in my opinion, is still unquestionably the leader in the plasma protein business. They have made the decision to invest more than $1 billion in a new fractionation plant in Georgia which will include a Purification area, a Filling Suite and a Testing Laboratory. It will create more than 1,500 jobs. The plant will probably fractionate approximately 4 million liters of plasma into finished products, and this is over and beyond the 4 million liters that Baxter already fractionates in its plant in Glendale, California.

My conclusions:
1) The plasma industry is a robust and expanding industry;
2) There will be need for more plasma;
3) There will be more demand for products;
4) Would this be a sign that Baxter’s Phase III Clinical Trial using their IVIG to prevent the growth of Alzheimer’s Disease is showing positive signs?