After hinting at expanding plasma-based manufacturing in the U.S. late last year, CSL is moving forward, finalizing details of the $1.5 billion project.
On Monday, the Australian biopharmaceutical company broke ground on an expansion of its facility in Kankakee, Illinois, aimed at significantly increasing production capacity for CSL’s plasma-derived therapeutics.
CSL said in a March 9 press release that the expansion, expected to be operational by 2031, will create at least 300 new direct jobs at the facility, adding to the facility’s more than 1,200 current employees.
CSL described the project as a “cornerstone of the company’s global manufacturing growth strategy” and noted that the enhanced facility will incorporate its Horizon 2 production process, which it described as a “yield-enhancing technology” that can produce larger amounts of immunoglobulin from “the same base volume of plasma.”
“This expansion is an important step in increasing efficiency by incorporating new and innovative manufacturing processes and technologies into the way we make plasma-based medicines that many people need,” Mary Oates, CSL’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.
He added that the project “will increase protein yield per gram of plasma collected and strengthen Kankakee’s role as a key hub in our global network.”
CSL’s operations are divided into separate divisions that oversee specific classes of products, with the CSL Behring division specifically covering plasma-derived therapies. These medicines, which help treat diseases such as hemophilia, primary immunodeficiency disorders and hereditary angioedema, and are also used as emergency treatments in cases of severe injuries and certain emergencies such as postpartum hemorrhage, account for well over half of CSL’s overall revenue.
CSL is likely now keen to invest in its plasma division, given the recent woes faced by its vaccines division, CSL Seqirus.
As of last summer, the company had plans to separate CSL Seqirus as part of a cost-cutting plan, but CSL pushed to suspend those plans in October, citing the volatility of the U.S. influenza vaccine market and the likelihood that the company would not realize the full potential value of the combination.
CSL then pledged in November to spend about $1.5 billion to ramp up plasma-based drug manufacturing in the United States. The move was one of many in the pharmaceutical industry last year, with companies pledging tens of billions of dollars to shore up U.S. infrastructure to counter the Trump administration’s threat of import tariffs.
In an announcement this week, CSL said its efforts to expand its U.S. capacity were driven by both business needs and “in line with U.S. government policies that encourage companies to expand their manufacturing footprint in the United States.”
CSL is currently investing in the Kankakee site, but it is not immune to downsizing in recent years.
In April 2024, CSL announced it would close one of its filling departments in Illinois, about an hour’s drive south of Chicago, and lay off 65 employees. At the time, a CSL spokesperson said that facility leadership had informed staff of the closure several years ago and that the move was part of its “commitment to regulatory agencies,” including the FDA.
On the manufacturing side, CSL debuted a new $1 billion cell-based influenza vaccine and antivenom facility in Melbourne, Australia, in December.
CSL announced late last year that the new facility would replace a previous egg-based vaccine production facility and would help supply vaccines to Australia as well as Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
