Pritzker announces $1.5 billion investment by CSL for Illinois plasma therapy manufacturing plant

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment from biotherapeutics company CSL for a new plasma therapy manufacturing plant in Kanakee.

CSL will expand its current footprint in Illinois with the new manufacturing facility, which will increase production capacity for the company's top immunoglobulin therapies — Privigen and Hizentra, Pritzker's office said.

"This represents one of the largest single life sciences investments in Illinois history," Pritzker said.

The expansion will create at least 300 new full-time jobs, while retaining more than 1,200 existing positions at CSL in Kankakee County, Pritzker said.

"For the first time, CSL's full manufacturing process, from plasma collection through filling and packing, will be entirely in the United States, with Illinois set to supply 100% of their demand for immunoglobulin therapies," Pritzker said.

The Kankakee expansion, set to go online by in 2031, will support CSL's Horizon 2 manufacturing process — a patented technology to enable a significantly greater quantity of immunoglobulin from a base amount of plasma.

CSL chief commercial officer Andy Schmeltz emphasized at a news conference with Pritzker on Monday that many patients rely on immunoglobulin for lifelong care. He also explained the complex manufacturing processes involved in developing plasma-derived therapies, which the new facility will take on.

"Plasma drive therapies are uniquely complex and considerably more costly to produce than traditional medicines," Schmeltz said. "Plasma can't be synthesized. It must be donated by generous individuals, and carefully tested, transported, and processed."

Plasma-derived therapies treat serious and rare diseases by harnessing proteins found in human blood plasma, CSL explained. The plasma is the component of the blood that contains proteins essential to critical bodily functions such as fighting infection and helping blood clot, CSL explained.

Pritzker's office said Illinois has a "thriving life" sciences ecosystem, with more than 15,000 life sciences firms in operation statewide. These include biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, and advanced manufacturing firms.