Australian biotechnology giant CSL has announced plans for a $2.3 billion expansion of its manufacturing operations in the United States as it seeks to skirt US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs for pharmaceuticals.
CSL in a statement said the five-year CapEx program would firm its manufacturing capacity for plasma-derived therapies (PDTs), creating “hundreds of high-quality American jobs”.
“By expanding our onshore production capacity in the US, we are deepening our commitment to patient care, creating high-quality jobs and driving innovation in the US,” CSL chief executive Paul McKenzie said.
CSL in July flagged a US$2 billion (AU$3.07 billion) investment in its American manufacturing in submissions to a review of the pharmaceutical sector by the Commerce Department.
President Trump has threatened 100 per cent tariffs on pharmaceuticals not manufactured within the US.
CSL has also faced pressure from smaller rivals expanding their domestic operations; its own manufacturing process sees PDTs sent to Australia or Europe for “finishing and filling”, exposing their products to tariffs upon re-entry to the US.
The newly announced CapEx figure is yet to be approved by CSL’s board of directors, who last month survived a spill motion after shareholders rejected the company’s remuneration report for the second consecutive year.
CSL has weathered a stormy year on the ASX. Its shares have lost a third of their value since August when the company announced it would cut 3,000 jobs – around 15 per cent of its global workforce – to consolidate its research and development network.
Projected net profits were also downgraded by three per cent in October, while plans to spin off its vaccine branch CSL Seqirus, which has suffered due to a fall in US vaccination rates, were scuppered.
The company on Wednesday said it had invested US$3 billion and created more than 6,500 jobs across its US operations since 2018.
A CSL spokesperson in October told the Australian Financial Review the company had “broader [US] investment plans”.
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