| Snake antivenom, an expensive animal product, is presently the only effective treatment for the consequences of snakebite. In Latin America, antivenoms are mainly produced by public institutions with frequent shortages of the necessary supply. Here, we present an economical analysis of the factors affecting production cost, assuming a basic processing batch of 100 L hyperimmune plasma. Three annual production volumes were considered for two typical production technologies. The components of cost were classified as fixed, variable and semi-variable. We found that in all stages of production, fixed cost represents the major contribution to total cost, and is given essentially by manpower cost, particularly for low production volumes. Our estimation shows... |
