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Core Capabilities

CSL's Research and Development programs are focused in four areas: 

Plasma Replacement Therapies

As a leading manufacturer and developer of therapeutics derived from human plasma, CSL is committed to maintaining the highest product safety standards and to continually improving manufacturing effectiveness.

CSL registration and clinical research activities make our products available to patients worldwide and identify novel therapeutic uses for plasma proteins. Our research programs are focused on developing novel plasma and recombinant proteins with improved efficacy and enhanced convenience.

Vaccines

GARDASIL® has been approved for use in young women for the prevention of cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancer. CSL supports market expansion for Australian-manufactured influenza vaccines by obtaining new international registrations and by increasing key global market share.

In 2008, CSL expanded the existing influenza vaccine facility in Parkville, thereby doubling manufacturing capacity to 40 million doses per season. This new facility, designed to meet US regulatory requirements, enables CSL to increase distribution of vaccine to the US and Europe and to enter the Chinese market.

This increased capacity will significantly enhance CSL's global presence. CSL is also making influenza vaccines more effective by combining influenza antigens (molecules that stimulate immune response) with its proprietary ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant, an immunological adjuvant that provides the immune stimulation necessary to induce both humoral and cellular responses. This combination should be particularly beneficial for the elderly, whose immune response to vaccination is often less robust.

CSL is also committed to the development of pandemic influenza vaccines. As the only southern hemisphere-based manufacturer of influenza vaccines, CSL plays a key strategic role in partnering with governments in this region to develop and supply a pandemic influenza vaccine. Following registration in Australia of Panvax®, ongoing research and development activities focus on ensuring that as many people as possible will be suitably protected for as long as possible in the event of a pandemic.


ISCOMATRIX® Adjuvant

Adjuvants are used to enhance or modify the immune response to antigens in vaccines. ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant has antigen delivery as well as immunomodulatory capabilities which combine to provide enhanced and accelerated immune responses. A range of ISCOMATRIX® adjuvanted vaccines have been evaluated in clinical trials. The results of these completed and ongoing studies indicate that the ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant is safe and generally well tolerated and increases the vaccine immune responses.

  Scientist My Linh Ly carries out an analysis of a simple ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant

The ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant is made from saponin, cholesterol and phospholipid (lipids from cell membranes), which, under defined conditions, form cage-like structures typically 40-50nm in diameter. In recent years the focus has been on developing an improved ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant designed to meet the ever increasing regulatory standards for components of human vaccines while maintaining the strong immune responses. The result is an optimised ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant that is well defined, has minimal impurities and does not use any materials of animal origin. Additionally, improvements have been made to the method of manufacturing processes to ensure it can be reproduced on a large scale.

CSL has several license and option agreements with major vaccine manufacturers including Merck & Co., Wyeth and Novartis. We also continue to use ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant in our own vaccine development programs such as influenza.

As part of the licensing agreements CSL will be the worldwide supplier of the ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant. To support this large scale manufacturing capability, a manufacturing plant was established at the Kankakee, Illinois site. 


Therapeutic Proteins

CSL is developing expertise and building facilities to support the production and testing of therapeutic proteins (proteins combined through genetic engineering), particularly monoclonal antibodies (identical antibodies produced by one type of immune cell) or MAbs.

CSL has extensive experience in the production and in clinical development of plasma derived coagulation factors and has been increasing efforts to identify recombinant candidates.

With extensive experience in producing large scale polyclonal, plasma derived immunoglobulins, CSL is also interested in the application of MAbs to treat cancer, inflammation and immunology. CSL has developed a portfolio of MAbs targeted against an impressive list of proprietary targets. Several MAbs are already in clinical trials.