Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission (1961 - 1990)

Summary

The Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission, commonly known as CSL, was established in 1961 and continued the work of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories. The Commission became a public company in 1990, CSL Limited.

Details

The events listed here are taken from "Celebrating 100. CSL". See link below for related events from 1901 - 2016.

Chronology

1961

Operational event - CSL issues its first clotting factor treatment for haemophilia A patients in Australia. It also commences plasma fractionation for New Zealand, followed later by Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.

1961

Operational event - CSL's Animal Health division develops a single vaccine that protects against pulpy kidney, tetanus, black disease, malignant oedema and blackleg. The five-in-one vaccine becomes Australia's most popular veterinary product.

1961

Business event - CSL is incorporated as a Commonwealth Statutory Authority under the control of a Board of Commissioners. The changes are designed to make CSL more commercial and profitable. Dr Bazeley disagrees with the move and leaves CSL.

1966 - 1967

Operational event - In a world first, CSL issues Rhesus (D) immunoglobulin on a national basis. Produced from plasma, it prevents haemolytic disease in newborns due to Rh factor incompatibility.

1968 - 1969

Operational event - As the Hong Kong influenza pandemic emerges, CSL acts quickly to produce 5 million doses of vaccine for Australia. The response provides a much-needed financial boost to the organisation. New investments in production greatly improve the purity of CSL's seasonal influenza vaccine.

1973

Operational event - CSL begins to adapt (re-assort) influenza strains so they grow better in eggs. The resulting 'manufacturing seeds' are provided to the WHO each season, who in turn shares them with all manufacturers for vaccine production.

1974

Business event - Dr Neville McCarthy from the multinationa pharmaceutical manufacturer ER Squibb & Sons, is appointed as CSL Director. He focuses on bringing order and financial stability to the organisation.

1980 - 1981

Operational event - CSL's Struan Sutherland finally develops a funnel-web spider antivenom, after 50 years of frustrating research by many scientists.

1980 - 1981

Business event - CSL enters a collaborative Agreement with Merck & Co, which includes distribution of Merck vaccines in Australia and New Zealand. The partnership continues today.

1983

Operational event - CSL adds protection against cheesy gland to its popular five-in-one vaccine for sheep, producing the top-selling product GLANVAC®. It becomes the biggest selling animal product in Australia and greatly reduces costs for vets and farmers.

1983

Operational event - CSL works with the public health community to protect Australia's blood and plasma products supply from HIV. Collaborating with US scientists, CSL advances heat treatment techniques to eliminate the virus from haemophilia therapies.

1988 - 1989

Operational event - Based on the work of Professor Barrie Marmion, CSL launches Q fever vaccine, Q VAX®. It becomes a product of national significance in Australia, protecting people who work with livestock. It remains the only vaccine of its kind available today

1988 - 1989

Operational event - The Australian Government commits to the construction of a world-class plasma fractionation facility on CSL's site at Broadmeadows. The new plant will double existing capacity and support self-sufficiency in plasma products.

1990

Business event - After convincing the Australian Government to consider CSL for privatisation, Dr Neville McCarthy steps down as Director. The Commission appoints 33 year-old Dr Brian McNamee as CEO.

Related entries

Timeline

 1911 - 1916 Commonwealth Vaccine Depot
       1916 - 1961 Commonwealth Serum Laboratories
             1961 - 1990 Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission
                   1990 - CSL Limited

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

• Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission - Records, 1961 - 1982, 82/91; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Books

• Brogan, Alfred H., Committed to Saving Lives: a history of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (South Yarra, Victoria: Hyland House, 1990), 301 pp. Details
• CSL Board, Celebrating 100, CSL: Just getting started (Melbourne, Victoria: CSL Limited, 2016), 12 pp, https://www.eoas.info/bib-pdf/ASBS19098.pdf. Details
• CSL Commission, This is CSL (Parkville, Victoria: Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission, 1966), https://www.eoas.info/bib-pdf/ASBS19101.pdf. Details
• CSL Commission, An introduction to Australia's Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (Parkville, Victyoria: Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission, 1979), 20 pp, https://www.eoas.info/bib-pdf/ASBS19100.pdf. Details
• CSL Commission, CSL 70, 1916-1986: Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission, the Seventieth Anniversary Exhibition (Parkville, Victoria: Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission, 1986), 17 pp, https://www.eoas.info/bib-pdf/ASBS19099.pdf. Details
• McCredie, Dando, The Fight Against Disease and CSL's Seventy Year Contribution (Parkville, Victoria: Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, 1986), 60 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Mathews, John A., 'The Birth of the Biotechnology Era: Penicillin in Australia 1943-80', Prometheus: Critical studies in innovation, 26 (4) (2008), 317-33, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/08109020802459306?needAccess=true. Details

Resources

• Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-630595. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Primary description of agency CA 2576; Commonwealth Serum Laboratories/ (from 1990 Limited), Head Office', in RecordSearch, National Archives of Australia, 2000, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?Number=CA%202576. Details