CSL Behring in Marburg, Germany, recently broke ground on a modern work environment called the R&D Cube, expected to open in 2022.
The site, which will be about 40,000 square meters and 24 meters high, was designed for new ways of working to increase collaboration, cooperation, innovation and creativity. Upon completion, approximately 600 colleagues will work in the building, which will house state-of-the-art laboratories. Currently, 400 of the company’s 1,700 researchers are based at CSL Behring’s leading-edge facility in Marburg, a university town north of Frankfurt. The global company develops and manufactures treatments for people who have rare and serious diseases.
Vicky Pirzas, VP, Recombinant Product Development Marburg: “With this modern building, we are further investing in the future of R&D as well as in Marburg to ensure that we continue to deliver on our promise to patients. Through this new Marburg site we aim to develop a vibrant ecosystem for life sciences. This will enhance collaboration within CSL, but importantly, we will also seek out new ways to collaborate and partner with other organizations and academic institutions across Germany and Europe.”
Bill Mezzanotte, CSL’s Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development, said the project is one of several that show the company’s strong commitment to R&D.
“This project demonstrates the importance of the Marburg R&D site as part of a global R&D investment strategy, including new sites in Bern, Switzerland, and in Melbourne, Australia, to ensure we continually deliver meaningful innovation for the next century of patients,” he said.
In Bern, Switzerland, CSL Behring recently expanded its research presence with the opening of the CSL Biologics Center at the new Swiss Center for Translational Medicine, known as “sitem-insel.” The unique facility provides the infrastructure to cultivate research findings or prototypes to marketable products. CSL Behring, with 50 on-site employees, is the only established biotechnology company at sitem-insel. CSL Behring has a large facility in Bern, Switzerland, which is in the midst of an expansion project.
In another example of collaborative research, the Bio21 Institute of Molecular Science in Melbourne, Australia, is home to the CSL Global Hub for Research and Translational Medicine. More than 130 of the company’s research scientists are based at the Bio21 Institute, which is one of the University of Melbourne’s flagship research institutes.
