Australian biotech firm CSL recently celebrated the official opening of the company's new state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) centre in Waltham, Massachusetts, US.

The custom-built facility is approximately 140,000 square feet with 54,000 square feet of lab space, including the first biosafety level 3 laboratory (BSL-3) in Waltham. The site will serve as CSL's central hub for current and future vaccine design.

CSL's global Research and Development organisation has more than 2,000 employees in ten countries around the world, contributing to a robust and promising pipeline of novel therapeutic candidates. In addition to Waltham, Massachusetts, the company has an R&D presence in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Pasadena, California; Melbourne, Australia; Bern, Switzerland; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Marburg, Germany – helping to create an integrated global organization that can conveniently collaborate with institutions everywhere and offer access to professional development opportunities and enhancing external 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," said Jon Edelman, Senior Vice President of the CSL Vaccines Innovation Unit. "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."