CSL on the defence over migrant plasma donors

Australia’s largest listed company, CSL, has defended its position as an ethical provider of needed blood plasma that is made into life saving medicines, after a report raised concerns around the possible exploitation of donors in its quest for liquid gold.

The $142 billion company was the subject of the controversial report by Credit Suisse’s ESG team, led by Phin Glover and Gretel Janu, that investigated whether the biotech was setting up collection facilities in disadvantaged areas of the United States, one of the few countries where donors can be paid to donate plasma.

CSL says the US supplies about 70 per cent of the world’s plasma requirements, and without the paid model there would not be enough plasma to meet global demand. Penny Stephens

Nathan Parkin, of Ethical Partners, said his firm already held a maximum underweight position, citing valuation and ESG risks as the main reasons, and that this positioning had hurt relative performance to date.

He said his firm had analysed the plasma collection issue as part of the work into human rights and supply chains, and key issues were the vulnerability of some donors and possible health effects around the frequency of donations.

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