Comparison of drugs in general and blood components
| Drug (chemical) | Blood and blood components | |
|---|---|---|
| Product characteristic | Small, simple molecule | Large complex molecules, higher-order structures, post-translational modifications |
| Raw material | Obtained by chemical synthesis | Obtained from human origin, cannot be made or manufactured |
| Analytical testing | Well-defined | Heterogeneous (raw material variability, manufacturing variability), difficult to characterize |
| Production | Bulk (lot) production | Single collection of blood from one donor, one lot-1 product |
| Manufacturing | Complex manufacturing process | Simple – mostly centrifugation and transfer in a closed system |