CSL Ltd Annual Report 2021

At a global level, Seqirus developed a white paper that highlighted insights from the southern hemisphere, which had experienced the bulk of its 2020 flu vaccination season amidst the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Published in Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (circulation 7.3 million), the paper focused on policy changes that supported high influenza immunisation rates that could inform vaccination planning and implementation during the upcoming northern hemisphere flu season. These policy changes included alterations to the timing and location of vaccine administration to accommodate social distancing; new policies to ensure optimal management of public demand, access and uptake of available vaccines across the season; and the need for communications to be clear, frequent and aligned among all stakeholder groups. To further amplify the learnings, we partnered with The Economist to publish an advertorial, including quotes from Seqirus leadership and leaders in influenza such as LJ Tan, Chief Strategy Officer of the Immunization Action Coalition. This supported advertorial with paid social targeting, garnered 4 million impressions across the US and Europe. Influenza pandemic and emergency response A measure of the trust we have built is our position as a global leader in influenza pandemic preparedness and response. Seqirus has three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities on three different continents, together with a global fill and finish network located close to our end markets. In 2020, Seqirus announced plans to build a new, world-class A$800 million influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in Australia. The state-of-the-art facility will use innovative cell-based technology to produce influenza vaccines for use in both influenza pandemics and seasonal vaccination programs – and will be the only cell-based influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in the southern hemisphere. This new facility will bolster our existing operations in the US. Built in a partnership with the Australian Government, the facility is unique as it utilises cell-based technology for influenza vaccine production, which has the potential for the rapid ramp-up of pandemic vaccine production. Each Seqirus facility provides pandemic response solutions to its host country and WHO. There are agreements in place with a number of other nations willing to reserve pandemic vaccine doses to protect their populations in the event of an influenza pandemic. In addition, Seqirus supplies pre-pandemic vaccine stockpiles that could be deployed to first-responders upon a declaration of an influenza pandemic. In March 2021, Health Canada approved FOCLIVIA ® , an MF59 ® adjuvanted, egg-based pandemic (H5N1) influenza vaccine. Seqirus Canada is an influenza pandemic vaccine partner to the Canadian Government through the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Global flu preparedness and response models In late 2020, the US National Academy of Medicine established an International Committee to assess the global impact that capabilities, technologies, processes and policies developed for COVID-19 could have on pandemic and seasonal influenza global preparedness and response, especially regarding vaccine development. Four consensus study committees were also established to explore the current state of the art and to develop recommendations for a number of key areas including R&D, clinical trials, regulatory approvals, scale-up, production, supply chain and distribution of influenza vaccines. Further perspectives were gathered through public workshop sessions. The final recommendations will be released as consensus reports later in 2021, which will inform the efforts of the US Health and Human Services Office of Global Affairs. Seqirus, along with industry association representatives from IFPMA and Bio is representing the vaccine manufacturers on the international committee and is actively involved in discussions to ensure that the manufacturers perspective is presented and considered in developing the recommendations. Relationships with patient groups Relationships with key stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, regulators, clinical groups and patients, deepen over time and add value to our business. When it comes to patients, these ties provide an increasing dimension of connection and commitment. ‘The game plan was always to put patients first, to mean what you say, not just to have it on a poster in the office,’ CEO Paul Perreault told attendees at the April 2021 Patients as Partners conference. Earlier that day, he reaffirmed CSL’s commitment to patients in a memo to employees that said: ‘From our start, patients have not only been at the centre of everything we do at CSL, they have served as our guiding star. The past year has only intensified our sense of urgency.’ CSL’s commitment to patient focus continues to be emphasised at a global and local level. Over the last 12 months, there has also been a substantial increase in the use of patient panels and advisory boards to co-create with patients on various projects. These valuable interactions have inspired better strategic development and decision-making for the clinical development and study execution teams; a wealth of information about idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), including patient lifestyles and cultural nuances; and insights into how to optimise the Electronic Patient Engagement Exchange, which is currently being developed to improve access to information and interaction with clinical trial participants. Additionally, many departments within and outside R&D have sponsored ‘patient days’ where patients are invited in to discuss their journey with CSL scientists and employees. To continue and expand our efforts for meaningful patient engagement, we added internally connected networks and developed information-sharing platforms to further embed patient focus into our daily work. These approaches will allow increased information-sharing and cross-collaboration and increase awareness throughout CSL. CSL Limited Annual Report 2020/21 47