Global biotech company CSL has opened a new $900 million Plasma Fractionation Facility in Victoria, bolstering the future of plasma manufacturing in Australia.
The new facility is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and is part of a $2 billion-plus capital investment program CSL currently has underway in Australia.
Located in Broadmeadows, the Plasma Fractionation Facility will allow CSL to process up to 9.2 million plasma equivalent litres per annum, a nine-fold increase on the current capacity for the site.
The new capacity is expected to meet the increasing demand for plasma-based life-saving therapies for patients globally, CSL said in a press release.
Plasma-based therapies are intended to help those with immunodeficiencies, neurological disorders and shock burns. They are also used in operating rooms around the world for transplant patients, surgical patients, and cancer patients.
CSL’s latest investment ensures the Broadmeadows site continues to play an important role in the manufacture and supply of life-saving medicines in Australia and other key markets.
The company also seeks to secure advanced manufacturing jobs in the country.
CSL has invested around $2 billion in the Broadmeadows site over the past decade, demonstrating strong support for Australia’s biopharma manufacturing capabilities and reinforcing the company’s confidence in the skills and expertise of the Australian workforce in delivering key infrastructure projects of this magnitude.
Plasma fractionation is the process of separating the components of human blood plasma. The new facility creates protein-rich plasma pastes, which are then processed into finished biotherapy products in other facilities at the Broadmeadows site.
The new Broadmeadows facility will process domestic plasma from Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, in addition to plasma commercially sourced through CSL Plasma.
“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,” said Paul Perreault, chief executive officer and managing director at CSL.
