Coronavirus, page-32

The article itself......

Australian biotech giant CSL is joining the fight against the coronavirus and is in discussion with a number of institutions to offer expertise, technologies and facilities as the public health issue worsens.

The $127 billion ASX-listed biotech said on Tuesday it was considering an involvement in the fight against coronavirus saying it is "currently very engaged with various institutions to assess possible strategies and options".

“Coronavirus is quite different to influenza virus so is not a core area of focus for CSL. On saying that, given the mounting public health issue this has become, we are investigating what adjacencies in expertise, technologies and facilities we might contribute as a collaborator to the global effort."


CSL shares are set to rise after the biotech said it was offering expertise and facilities in the fight against the virus.

CSL joins a number of biotech companies around the world working to combat the virus and investors are already punting on which may be successful.

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In the meantime, brace yourselves for the coronavirus-related biotech bubble.

It feels a bit like the dot.com bubble of 2000. When that burst there were only a few winners but plenty of investors nursing financial burns.

Coronavirus has thus created a speculator’s dream. In the US alone at least 12 biotech companies have announced an involvement either in vaccination or treatment, according to Needham & Company biotech analyst Alan Carr.

There will be room for more than one player to benefit commercially from developing drugs to combat the virus - but most of the declared hopefuls won’t.

Until now the only Australian horse declared in the race to date is Queensland University - so no opportunity to make money there.

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Although it had only declared its involvement on Tuesday CSL had already caught a small dose of the enthusiasm bug with its shares having risen more than 14 per cent through January.



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