UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Paul Perreault, chief executive officer and managing director of CSL Limited, the fifth largest biotech company in the world with more than 22,000 employees, presented “Innovation in Biotechnology: The Promise, The Potential, The Pitfalls” at the Penn State Forum on March 12 at The Nittany Lion Inn.
“The opportunity in our industry to innovate is why I come to work every day. Our patients are why we exist and it’s our mission to listen to and innovate around their needs. For people living with rare and serious conditions, their medicines are not discretionary, and it’s our imperative, not an afterthought, to improve their lives,” said Perreault.
Perreault, who has more than 30 years of experience in the global health care industry and has led CSL since 2013, talked about fostering innovation, medical therapies biotechnologies can offer patients, and CSL’s ongoing partnership with Penn State. The company, which was founded as a nonprofit agency by the Australian government in 1916, focuses on plasma therapies, recombinant proteins, gene therapy and vaccines in more than 60 countries.
“There is still a lot of art left in medicine and a tremendous amount left to learn about the human body and these vessels we inhabit. Over the next decade, the current methods for treating diseases could be revolutionized,” said Perreault. “We’re always exploring how we bring this innovation to people across the globe. The promise is exciting, and the potential is tremendous.”
In 2018, Perreault was named one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs and “Humanitarian Man of the Year” by the Hemophilia Association of New Jersey. Australian Financial Review named him its 2017 CEO of the Year and he was awarded Healthcare CEO of the Year from the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies in 2016. He is a member of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council and also served on the board of Bunker Labs Philadelphia, a network of military veteran entrepreneurs.
In 2017, CSL Behring committed $4.92 million to Penn State to create the multidisciplinary Center of Excellence in Biotechnology, and to revitalize the University's Fermentation Facility, an engine for collaboration and innovation in biological training and research on the University Park campus.
Perreault is a member of the Penn State Provost’s Global Advisory Council, which brings together leaders in academia, industry, and governmental and nongovernmental organizations to offer their collective insight and guidance to help shape the University’s global strategies. In 2019, Paul and Beverly Perreault committed $1.08 million to establish the Perreault Fellows Program and Scholarship in Global Programs, which will provide international internship opportunities to undergraduate students interested in becoming global leaders in their fields. The couple also designated a portion of their gift to Penn State’s new Student Veteran Center.
The next, and final, Penn State Forum of the academic year will feature Dr. Amy Goldberg, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. She will deliver a talk titled “Looking Back: Reflections on Three Decades of Gun Violence” on April 16 at the Nittany Lion Inn.
For more than 20 years, the Penn State Forum Speaker Series has introduced the University community to noted leaders in their respective fields. Open to the public, the event includes a buffet lunch followed by remarks from the distinguished speaker. For more information about purchasing tickets and a list of speakers, visit sites.psu.edu/forum.