CSL Limited Annual Report 2022/23 38 Collaborating to pair external unique technologies, assets and equipment with our strengths in research, clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialisation will help us reliably deliver the next and future generations of therapies to our patients. We are very purposeful in the culture, behaviours and mindset we establish when we decide to work with a partner. Better outcomes follow when the goal is both outcome and connection – at the heart of this thinking is a ‘combinatorial’ culture of complementary leadership and a spirit of true collaboration. Dr Emmanuelle Lecomte-Brisset, Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs • CSL and WEHI have also established the CSL WEHI Translational Data Science Alliance which will leverage CSL’s expertise in drug development and WEHI’s experience in bioinformatics to gain a deeper understanding of biotherapies and patient populations. Through this alliance, CSL’s Research Data Science team will work alongside WEHI’s highly skilled and worldrenowned computational biologists and bioinformaticians, who will contribute innovative data analysis methods to help us advance therapeutics into the clinic. Additionally, this collaboration will greatly enhance R&D capabilities in bioinformatics, genomics and imaging at both CSL and WEHI through the utilisation of advanced technologies, platforms and talent development. • The Australian Research Council (ARC) Hub for Digital Bioprocess Development is part of the Industrial Transformation Research Hub grant scheme (ITRH Scheme) and has been established to support the biopharmaceutical industry by fostering digital innovation, productivity and competitiveness. It will draw together expertise from the University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney and RMIT University, together with CSL, Patheon and Pall and three leading international universities, forming a substantial team. The Hub will bring together an interdisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and computing specialists to create digitally integrated advanced manufacturing processes and a platform for industry-wide adoption. This will include the development of novel process and digital models capable of predicting and optimising manufacturing processes resulting in improved yields, more efficient and flexible processes, and enhanced product stability. The ARC Hub for Digital Bioprocess Development will employ six CSL post-doctoral scientists and over 10 PhD students over a five-year period. In support of the yearly seasonal influenza vaccine epidemic, CSL Seqirus collaborates with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre in Melbourne, Australia to prepare vaccine seeds and potency reagents that are made widely available. This is an important contribution to assist with the global effort to prepare for the forthcoming vaccination season. Influenza remains a significant global health concern and CSL is committed to collaborating with like-minded partners to advance our understanding of the human response to influenza and to discover new and innovative vaccine solutions for this and other respiratory viruses. By collaborating with Arcturus Therapeutics, CSL has gained access to Arcturus Therapeutics’ advanced next-generation mRNA vaccine platform technology, which has shown promising results in a large Phase III study for COVID-19. Through this collaboration the commercialisation of a prospective COVID (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine has been significantly advanced and the partnership will continue to drive the development of new vaccines including seasonal influenza sa-mRNA vaccines. This agreement with Arcturus Therapeutics provides CSL with an opportunity to strengthen and accelerate our goals for the next-generation of mRNA vaccines and underscores our commitment to pursuing new and innovative ways of protecting public health. This is a significant leap forward with a demonstrated platform that will allow us to further explore influenza-adjacent therapies. Dr Paul McKenzie, Chief Executive Officer Strategic support for innovative medical research One of CSL’s core values is innovation and over the past year we have continued to support collaborative innovation through the endowment of the following awards to researchers around the world. • The Heimburger Award is a global award available to researchers across the world. Professor Dr Norbert Heimburger, a CSL Behring employee for over three decades, was a pioneer of modern coagulation therapy. Among his many achievements, Prof. Dr Heimburger developed virus-safe plasma products based on pasteurisation, including launching the first effectively virus-inactivated FVIII concentrate in 1981. In his honour, CSL Behring created the Heimburger Award, recognising clinical and/or preclinical research of emerging coagulation specialists who are driven to improve the care of patients with bleeding disorders. In May 2022, five recipients from Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands received this award. • In October 2022, two Australian scientists were each awarded a CSL Centenary Fellowship, valued at A$1.25 million over five years. Dr Samuel Forster will use his fellowship to fund research to unravel how some bacteria influence the gut’s immune system and contribute to inflammatory bowel disease, a chronic, painful and disruptive condition. And the help of the fellowship will assist Dr Michelle Boyle to investigate how the malaria parasite can disrupt the body’s immune response, reducing the effectiveness of vaccination in children in malaria-affected communities. Both of these research projects will generate fundamental knowledge that could transform how we fight these diseases to improve outcomes for patients. 6 Powered by Innovation
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