The Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) was established in Melbourne in 1916 by the federal government to research and manufacture pharmaceutical products that were hard to get because of the war (World War One). During World War One perhaps the most significant drug CSL made was penicillin, a new wonder drug for treating infections. Penicillin was based on a mould that killed certain types of bacteria (germs) that caused diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia. Scientists in Britain had only just worked out how to turn this mould into a treatment for patients. Previously, people had often died from or been badly harmed by these diseases. One of the scientists was the Australian Howard Florey. He found out how to use penicillin to treat infections by making antibiotics. Antibiotics were the first effective way of fighting the bacteria that caused such diseases. CSL began manufacturing penicillin on a large scale in 1943. First it had to supply the armed forces so that soldiers, sailors and aircrew who got sick could be treated and usually recover. By 1944 CSL was also able to make supplies available to the civilian population. Australia was the first country in the world to make this miracle drug widely available to people other than soldiers. Many lives were saved because of this.