Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL) and allied
contract manufacturer DSM Biologics announced today that they have signed a
PER.C6® research license agreement with leading Japanese pharmaceutical
company JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. This license agreement allows JCR to use
the PER.C6® cell line for production of certain recombinant therapeutic
proteins.
Under the terms of the agreement, JCR will make a research license payment and
annual maintenance fees. Further financial details were not disclosed.
About Crucell
Crucell N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines and
antibodies that prevent and treat infectious diseases, including Ebola,
influenza, malaria, West Nile virus and rabies. The company’s development
programs include collaborations with sanofi aventis for influenza vaccines,
the U.S. National Institutes of Health for Ebola and malaria vaccines, and
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and New York
University for a malaria vaccine. Crucell’s products are based on its
innovative PER.C6® technology, which offers a safer, more efficient way to
produce biopharmaceuticals. The company licenses its PER.C6® technology to the
biopharmaceutical industry on a mostly non-exclusive basis. Licensees and
partners include DSM Biologics, GSK, Centocor/J&J and Merck & Co., Inc.
Crucell is headquartered in Leiden, The Netherlands, and is listed on the
Euronext and NASDAQ stock exchanges (ticker symbol CRXL). For more
information, please visit www.crucell.com.
About DSM Biologics
DSM Biologics, a business unit of the DSM Pharmaceutical Products business
group, is one of the world’s leading contract manufacturers of
biopharmaceutical products, the latest generation of drugs, mainly on the
basis of native molecules and produced with the help of cell cultures. The
company is renowned for its experience in the use of a broad range of cell
culture systems (microbial and mammalian) and its expertise in the field of
purification techniques. Established in 1986, DSM Biologics currently employs
about 450 people, who are based at the company’s two sites, one in Groningen,
the Netherlands (ca. 1,000 liters fermentor capacity and 6,000 m2 ) and one in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada (ca. 6,500 liters fermentor capacity and presently
10,000 m2). DSM Biologics is a joint venture of DSM and
Société générale de financement du Québec (SGF),
an industrial and financial holding company, which carries out economic
development projects, especially in the industrial sector, in cooperation with
partners and in accordance with accepted requirements for profitability that
comply with the economic development policy of the Government of Québec. For
more information, please visit
www.dsmbiologics.com.
DSM Biologics is represented by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. in Japan for the
licensing of the PER.C6® technology.
About JCR
JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., is a biopharmaceutical company founded in 1975
to research, develop and manufacture human-derived bioactive substances. While
JCR engages in the manufacture of enzymes and hormones, its recent activities
include the research and development of cell therapies and orphan drugs. JCR’s
core product is recombinant human growth hormone, which is manufactured and
sold in Japan. JCR is listed on Second Section of Osaka Stock Exchange (code
4552). For more information, please visit
www.jcrpharm.co.jp.