CSL Limited Annual Report 2022/23 34 6 Powered by Innovation CSL’s growing R&D presence in Waltham is the latest example of our investment in our future – which includes advancing our growing capabilities in disruptive technologies like next-generation mRNA. At this site, we aim to develop the vaccines that will help protect the public in the decades ahead and facilitate collaboration with local partners to drive our next wave of innovation. Dr Jon Edelman, Senior Vice President, Vaccines Innovation Unit Our digital transformation The biopharmaceutical industry is on the precipice of significant disruptive innovation and change that will have far-reaching impacts for both companies and the people they serve. Various factors, such as growing demand, escalating costs of product development, pressure to reduce drug prices and the need for enhanced patient access, are intensifying the competitive landscape. Companies that embrace and effectively use digital technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and large-scale data sets, will gain a competitive advantage in the present and future. As CSL grows, it is undertaking considered and purposeful measures to establish a robust digital framework throughout the organisation to support new levels of productivity, growth and sustainability. Why do we need disruptive innovation? Because our patients, public health, employees and the CSL business are relying on its transformative impact To be an innovator means that, at times, you will disrupt the status quo and challenge orthodoxies to achieve better outcomes. At CSL, we have a history of disrupting ‘the way things are’. Equally, we are not afraid to also disrupt ourselves if it means an even better experience or outcome for patients and public health. Fast paced digital transformation has the potential to transformmanufacturing processes, including pharmaceutical production, but also has the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of how we currently work in R&D. Digital tools to simulate, monitor and drive experimentation, offer new insights into the ability to make use of big data currently generated by CSL platforms, with the potential to fundamentally change the way we work in R&D. To enhance efficiency through digital technology and analytics, CSL is currently undergoing a transformation in its approach to information and technology (IT) in order to complement laboratory spaces and wet laboratory benchtops. As the working environment evolves in tandemwith advancements in IT, it is crucial for CSL’s scientists to adopt a ‘bilingual’ scientific approach. They must feel equally comfortable designing experiments and employing coding and mathematical techniques to manipulate extensive data sets. With the increasing digitalisation of our lives and processes, data science offers us the capability to delve deeper into analytical insights, optimise workflows and processes, and automate repetitive tasks, all freeing up more time to focus on the science and provide real-time insights to support decision making. CSL’s Biomedical Data Science Initiative (BDSI) aims to enhance R&D capabilities in utilising big data by introducing new technologies, processes, additional resources, personal development opportunities and new collaborative approaches. The initiative emphasises talent acquisition, partnerships, infrastructure development and cloud strategy to address the evolving needs of translational data science and support the transformation of our R&D organisation towards precision medicine. It will complement and bolster our existing R&D strengths and enables us to mitigate program risks by increasing the probability of success, providing deeper insights into diseases and assets, and optimising the design of clinical trials to be more efficient and timely. In the future, it is likely that CSL’s bench scientists will allocate a significant portion of their time to data analytics. Therefore, possessing strong programming and mathematical skills will be just as essential as traditional biomedical competencies, wet laboratory skills and result interpretation. With the right information and technology infrastructure and adaptable scientists who possess a blend of traditional and modern scientific skills, CSL is positioning itself to thrive in the ‘Lab of the Future’. As drug development changes, we invest continuously in upskilling our people. That helps scientists feel safer with change because they understand that they will be part of how the company evolves. Dr Douglas Lee, Senior Vice President, Plasma Product Development CSL, along with experts within and beyond the organisation, operates within an ecosystem of digital-to-physical research tools that enhance human capabilities, enabling us to tackle increasingly complex experiments. Automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming our interactions with our laboratories. Importantly, this ecosystem fosters integration of external partners and collaborators as extensions of CSL’s R&D functions.
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