CSL has officially opened the company's $900 million plasma fractionation facility in Melbourne.
The facility, the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, is part of the company's $2 billion-plus capital investment currently underway in Australia.
The company said the new facility in the Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows will process up to 9.2 million plasma equivalent litres yearly. This represents a nine-fold increase in the current capacity for the site and will help meet the increasing global demand for plasma-based therapies.
Plasma fractionation is the process of separating the components of human blood plasma. The new facility creates protein-rich plasma pastes that are then processed into finished biotherapy products in other facilities at the Broadmeadows site.
Plasma-derived therapies treat those with immunodeficiencies, neurological disorders, shock and burns. They are used in operating theatres for transplant, surgical and cancer patients.
CSL said the investment in the site means it will continue to play an important role in the manufacture and supply of life-saving medicines in Australia and other markets, as well as secures advanced manufacturing jobs in Australia.
The company has invested around $2 billion in the Broadmeadows site over the past decade.
Its $2 billion investment program in Australia includes the next-generation influenza vaccine manufacturing facility at Tullamarine and its new global headquarters and R&D facilities located in Melbourne's biomedical precinct.
"Today is a great day for patients, CSL and for biopharma manufacturing in Australia. As part of our multibillion-dollar capital expansion currently underway across Australia, this new facility builds on our long and proud Australian heritage and represents a bright future for our CSL Broadmeadows site. It also ensures we are developing the skills and expertise locally to support advanced manufacturing in Australia," said CSL CEO and managing director Paul Perreault.
"With the construction of this new facility in Victoria, CSL will continue to meet the increasing demand for our plasma biotherapies not only in Australia, but also for our patients worldwide who rely on us every day.
"Over the past 10 years, CSL has invested close to $2 billion into Broadmeadows, helping transform the site into an important part of CSL's global manufacturing network and a significant contributor to the company's success in the decades to come."
CSL is a key partner of the National Blood Authority. Its agreement was renewed in 2018.
The new CSL Fractionation Facility in Broadmeadows will process domestic plasma from Australian, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysian donor plasma, in addition to commercially sourced plasma through CSL Plasma (a subsidiary of CSL), one of the world's largest collectors of human plasma.
CSL Behring has constructed a similar fractionation facility simultaneously in Marburg, Germany, with the projects promoting cross-functional and cross-cultural development opportunities for the company's global employees.
The new facility has received approval from the TGA and is expected to be fully operational in early 2023.
