MELBOURNE, March 6, 2026, 17:36 AEDT
CSL Ltd’s vaccine business, Seqirus, has locked in a Canadian government contract to deliver up to 15 million pandemic influenza vaccine doses from its Victoria site if a flu pandemic is declared by the World Health Organization. This marks the first supply deal for CSL’s new Tullamarine facility outside the Asia-Pacific region, the company noted.
Timing counts here. CSL badly needed some positive news, coming off an eight-year share price low last month after the biotech logged an 81% plunge in half-year profit and unexpectedly swapped out its chief executive. For Seqirus, the deal lands as a rare export win not long after CSL abandoned plans to spin off the vaccines unit, following a decline in U.S. flu vaccine uptake.
It’s a harsh backdrop for the sector. Back in January, Reuters pointed to U.S. policy shifts as a key driver behind falling vaccine demand. “Vaccines will not be a growth area” under the current administration, ING’s Stephen Farrelly warned. Sanofi—among the top vaccine producers—expects its vaccine sales to land slightly negative this year, blaming soft demand in the U.S. Reuters
CSL Seqirus is set to produce a cell-based adjuvanted flu shot under the contract—so, instead of using eggs, the virus is cultured in mammalian cells and combined with an immune-boosting ingredient. According to the Australian and Canadian prime ministers, the vaccines will be manufactured out of CSL’s Victoria facility, aimed at bolstering supply-chain ties between the two nations.
CSL kept financial details under wraps. Gillian Stafford, CSL Seqirus’s Canadian commercial operations director, described the flu pandemic risk as an “ever-present threat.” Canadian Health Minister Marjorie Michel said the contract means Canada can “respond quickly” if a pandemic is declared. The company added that doses will come from its Tullamarine facility near Melbourne—this marks the site’s first deal outside the Asia-Pacific since launching in December. Global Newsroom | CSL
CSL disclosed in its Thursday daily filing that it picked up another 59,751 shares on March 4, lifting on-market repurchases to about 4.03 million shares. So far, the company has spent around A$738.8 million, according to the filing. CSL previously flagged the buyback could reach up to US$750 million by June 30.
Interim CEO Gordon Naylor, who stepped in after Paul McKenzie’s departure, told analysts last month that the U.S. vaccines market was “extraordinarily difficult.” At the time, Citi flagged that CSL’s full-year outlook allowed minimal margin for error, with most of the expectations riding on Behring — the company’s key plasma division. Reuters
Competition isn’t standing still. Sanofi and GSK have felt the sting of slowing U.S. vaccine demand, while Moderna is touting its combined COVID-flu shot in Europe, targeting some markets as soon as the 2026-27 season. For CSL, the challenge is to keep its established flu business on track as more innovative rivals move in.
The Canadian deal? Not guaranteed to deliver sales any time soon. It gets activated only if a pandemic is called, and CSL still faces soft demand for regular flu shots in the U.S., unpredictable flu seasons at Seqirus, and the ongoing task of fixing both Behring and Vifor, the kidney drug business. Naylor has talked up CSL’s potential, but investors want to see results now.
