DELIVERING ON PATIENT-FOCUSED LEADERSHIP

By the end of January 2020, the entire city of Wuhan, China, was in lockdown, the first cases of a novel coronavirus had been detected in the US, and the world was on high alert. At CSL, Paul and his leadership team were thinking about how they might be of help.

Rising To The Covid Challenge

Bill Mezzanotte, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development, tried to reach out to Chinese authorities about potential use of hyperimmune therapy derived from the plasma of recovered patients—from CSL Plasma’s fractionation facility in China.

When the Chinese government didn’t respond, Bill suggested collaborating with global competitors to test a convalescent plasma product. This project wouldn’t fit the normal business model. “We probably can’t charge for this, and it will cost us a fair amount to do this, but it’s the right thing,” Bill recalls telling Paul. “And his only question to me was, ‘What are you waiting for?’”

In June 2020, Paul presented the concept at a White House roundtable and made a plea for more plasma donations. Donations had plummeted amid the worldwide shutdowns and fears of spread of the coronavirus, but plasma collection remained essential to a multitude of patients.

“I’m here representing all the manufacturers of hyperimmunes, including the COVID-19 Plasma Alliance, which is really an unprecedented partnership of world-leading plasma companies, which have joined together to help develop a plasma therapy to treat COVID-19,” he said at the roundtable, announcing a joint clinical trial. “But we need plasma and we need plasma donors.”

Although that clinical trial did not show significant benefit in COVID patients hospitalized with severe disease, the alliance illustrates CSL’s commitment to work on behalf of patients. Plasma donations slowly recovered, which was critical for patients dependent on plasma-derived products.

Meanwhile, attention turned to emerging COVID vaccines, which had impressive evidence of effectiveness. In keeping with its longstanding public health mission in Australia, CSL produced fifty million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the Australian government.

CSL provided support for public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it produced fifty million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the Australian government.