Australia's CSL to start work on immunoglobulin product to treat COVID-19

Australian biotech firm CSL Ltd said on Wednesday it will start local development of an immunoglobulin product to treat serious cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The company's unit CSL Behring will develop the immunoglobulin product at its Melbourne-based Broadmeadows facility using antibodies from plasma collected from people who have recovered from COVID-19, CSL said in a statement on its website.

CSL expects around 800 plasma donations will be needed to produce enough immunoglobulin to treat around 50-100 seriously ill people under the clinical trial, it said.