It’s not every day an Australian government official makes a visit to Marburg, Germany.
Jaala Pulford, a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, recently made a stop in the university town following a visit to Frankfurt. It gave Pulford, who is minister for Employment, Innovation and Resources – a firsthand view of CSL’s global strategy in action. CSL was founded more than 100 years ago in Australia and has evolved into a global biotech specializing in medicines that treat rare and serious diseases as well as influenza vaccines.
CSL is building a $157 million USD (150 million euro) R&D hub in Marburg, which will be home to 500 scientific employees, and aims to be a catalyst for partnerships and innovation. Completion of the seven-story facility is expected later this year.
Here’s what Vicky Pirzas, CSL’s Vice President, Recombinant Product Development & Managing Director R&D Marburg, said following the visit:
I've been involved in the planning for M600 from the very beginning, so it was a great honor to welcome the Honorable Jaala Pulford on July 4 for a site visit. The State of Victoria’s Minister wanted to learn about our new building and its vision for CSL. After all, Marburg will not only be CSL’s largest R&D hub under one roof; the M600 building will be a key element driving our global R&D strategy and propelling CSL into the future.
We started our tour in the atrium, which is awash in natural light thanks to a glass ceiling five stories overhead. Before long, I could see my enthusiasm for M600 was well-founded. The Honorable Minister was impressed with the building and this glimpse into CSL’s bright future.
Lars Groenke, Vice President R&D Respiratory TA & Managing Director R&D Marburg, joined us as we toured what soon will be our state-of-the-art labs, working areas and an additional space reserved especially for startups and academia. Lars told The Honorable Minister about our strategy to spur a life-science startup ecosystem in the region – to become the “Cambridge of Germany”, a place of world-class knowledge exchange and one of the most attractive bioscience locations for young scientists.
The Honorable Minister – also being in charge of the State of Victoria’s Ministry of Resources – took a particular interest in the sustainability of the building, an area in which the M600 building scores high. Sustainability was top of mind when we designed the building. Its construction followed KfW (a German state-owned investment and development bank) eligibility criteria for green financing. The investment is consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations - it contributes to the sustainability targets #7 - Affordable and Clean Energy and #13 - Climate Action.
It was truly an enriching experience to see The Honorable Minster’s interest and positive reactions during the tour. With this preview of the M600 building in Marburg, we were able to show that “innovative,” “sustainable,” and “future-oriented” are not just buzz words to us. They describe how we have anchored this R&D building firmly in the region – and in the future.
