CSL recently opened its new headquarters and R&D facility in Melbourne, unveiling an 18-story building designed to be a powerful catalyst for scientific discovery in Australia, where the global biotech company got its start more than 100 years ago. The country’s Prime Minister officially opened the new headquarters at the August 21 launch celebration.
“It truly is world class. It’s a lab, a factory, a biotech startup incubator, a multinational business and a piece of Australian history all in one stunning, state-of-the-art building,” said Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, who also donned a lab coat and visited the new lab space.
CSL Board Chair Dr. Brian McNamee said the new headquarters acknowledges the company’s Australian heritage and demonstrates CSL’s commitment to future innovation. Located in the Parkville Biomedical Precinct in Melbourne, the building at 655 Elizabeth Street sits near the University of Melbourne, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre and other leaders in medical and scientific discovery.
“Today, we stand here proudly as a trailblazing force in innovation, with global scale, and Australia as our home and Melbourne as our headquarters," McNamee said. “This building is part of a multi-billion-dollar investment by CSL in infrastructure in Australia over the last four years, enabling us to continue to serve the Australian public as well as the globe.”
Created in 1916 as a government body called Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, CSL is now among the largest companies traded on the Australian Securities Exchange and its 32,000 employees research, develop and manufacture critical medicines and vaccines available in more than 100 countries.
“We hope that with the addition of this world-class facility, the scientific and commercial output of the Parkville Biomedical Precinct here in Melbourne can continue to be much more than the sum of its parts. Our aim is to accelerate even more research, more development and ultimately deliver more products that can help people in serious need all over the world,” said Dr. Paul McKenzie, CSL’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
CSL includes business units CSL Behring, which makes medicines for people who have rare and serious diseases; CSL Seqirus, which develops and manufactures vaccines; and CSL Vifor, a leader in iron deficiency and nephrology (kidney care).
More than 850 employees will work in the new global headquarters, which has seven levels of laboratories, four levels of open-plan office space, a 150-seat auditorium and 60+ meeting rooms. It’s also home to the Jumar Bioincubator, established in partnership with WEHI and The University of Melbourne with initial investment from Breakthrough Victoria. It provides office and lab space for up to 40 biotech start-ups. The incubator aims to help startups progress their scientific innovations so scientific discoveries move more quickly “from the bench to the bedside” to improve the lives of patients.
