UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has named global biotech leader CSL Behring as its 2019 Corporate Partner of the Year. The University presented the award to corporate representatives at a luncheon today (Oct. 18).
The award recognizes CSL Behring’s generous support for the University, including philanthropic commitments to expand biotechnology research and deliver industry-relevant student experiences, seminars and other student engagement activities conducted by University and company leadership, and a vibrant recruiting presence at Penn State.
“CSL Behring is the world’s fifth largest biotech company, and its promise to seeking innovative solutions to unmet medical challenges complements Penn State’s leadership role in educating students for the 21st-century workforce,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “With CSL Behring’s support, Penn State is evolving industrial biotechnology education and research at the University, throughout the Commonwealth, and beyond — with enormous potential for improving human health.”
CSL Behring is globally known for its cutting-edge R&D and advanced production of therapeutic proteins. The company operates one of the world’s largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma, and its parent company, CSL Limited in Melbourne, Australia, employs over 25,000 people, has an annual revenue of $8.7 billion and delivers life-saving therapies to people in more than 60 countries. CSL Behring provides medicines to rare-disease patients around the world. This includes treating bleeding disorders, primary immune deficiencies, hereditary angioedema, inherited respiratory disease and neurological disorders, as well as supplying products to assist in cardiac surgery, burn treatment and enabling the prevention of hemolytic disease of the newborn.
By locating its global headquarters in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, CSL Behring has advanced a vision of the commonwealth as a pioneer in biotechnology — and partnerships with Penn State have further underscored that commitment. In 2017, the company pledged a $4.92 million gift to Penn State to create the multidisciplinary Center of Excellence in Biotechnology, housed within the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and to establish the CSL Behring Fermentation Facility, an engine for collaboration and innovation in biological training and research on the University Park campus. The company has provided speakers and executive-level leaders for student initiatives and advisory board roles, participated in a virtual leadership seminar for Eberly College of Science students, and worked closely with the Smeal College of Business and the College of Agricultural Sciences on other initiatives. The partnership has also expanded into local economic development, with CSL Plasma adding a new State College facility to its plasma collection network.
“Thanks to our collaboration with CSL Behring, Penn State is emerging as a leader, both in Pennsylvania and globally, in industrial biotechnology education, research and outreach,” said Andrew Read, director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Evan Pugh Professor of Biology and Entomology, and Eberly Professor of Biotechnology. “And our students are positioned to transform the field. Together, CSL Behring and Penn State are generating a pipeline of future leaders who will address health challenges worldwide.”
“These are exciting times in biotech, and CSL Behring values this opportunity to build a lasting relationship with Penn State and meet the growing need for world-class teaching and research centers,” said CSL Limited CEO and Managing Director Paul Perreault. “At CSL, we’re driven by our promise to use the latest technologies to protect and improve the health of people around the world. Collaborating with Penn State on these efforts — and helping to educate the next generation of biotech scientists and leaders — is a natural outgrowth of our commitment to foster innovation.”
Previous Penn State Corporate Partners of the Year include Ernst & Young, Schlumberger, AB Volvo, United Technologies Corp., General Electric, Chevron, Toshiba/Westinghouse, Dow Chemical, Boeing, Highmark, PNC, Barnes and Noble, Lockheed Martin and Bank of America.
Support from these and other corporate partners will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of organizations, alumni, friends and parents, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.