CSL Limited is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1916 as the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, an Australian government body focused on vaccine manufacture.
CSL Limited history, profile and history video
CSL Limited was incorporated in 1991 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1994.
Since then, CSL has acquired a number of companies. They include: the Bern-based ZLB Bioplasma AG, a Swiss plasma company; Aventis Behring, known as global biotechnology leader CSL Behring; U.S. plasma collector Nabi, which helped to form the world’s premier plasma collection company in CSL Plasma; the Novartis influenza vaccine business, now integrated and known as Seqirus, the world’s second-largest influenza vaccines company; Calimmune, a leader in gene-modification and cell delivery technology; and Vitaeris, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of clazakizumab as a potential treatment option for organ transplant recipients experiencing rejection. Their combined and rich histories make CSL the innovative global leader it is today.
On 7 September 2020, CSL signed agreements with the Australian government to supply the University of Queensland vaccine (V451) and to manufacture (with AstraZeneca) the Oxford University vaccine (AZD1222).
On 23 March 2021, the Therapeutic Goods Administration provisionally approved the first batches, numbering 832,000 doses, of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by CSL in its plant in Broadmeadows, Victoria.
The company engages in the research, development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of biopharmaceutical and allied products, focusing on rare and severe diseases and influenza vaccines. Its product areas include blood plasma derivatives, vaccines, antivenom, and cell culture reagents used in various medical and genetic research and manufacturing applications.
With more than 25 000 employees, CSL Ltd. is considered one of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world, according to Forbes.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.csl.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “CSL“.