DSM Biologics, a business unit of DSM Pharmaceutical Products and Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL; Swiss Exchange: CRX) announced today that another important milestone has been achieved with the PER.C6® technology platform for the production of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. Scientists working at PERCIVIA reached a record level titer of 15 g/L at harvest for an antibody product. PERCIVIA is the PER.C6® Development Center joint venture between DSM and Crucell, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Marco Cacciuttolo, CEO of PERCIVIA comments, “This high titer achievement for PER.C6®, the highest reported to date, marks a major event for the biopharmaceutical industry. It demonstrates the power and robustness of the PER.C6® manufacturing platform and it clearly shows that the PER.C6® manufacturing platform will have a major impact to the overall economics of manufacturing biopharmaceuticals. DSM and Crucell recognized the enormous potential of the PER.C6® technology when starting the PERCIVIA joint venture just over 1 year ago. The breakthrough results achieved in a single year reinforce the special properties and abilities of the PER.C6® manufacturing platform. Based on our scientific data today, we are confident that we will be able to drive productivity even further.”

Marcel Lubben, VP of Marketing, Sales & Business Development at DSM Biologics added, “We are very enthusiastic about the new 15 g/L milestone for our licensees. The PER.C6® manufacturing platform has tremendous potential for the biotech industry to significantly reduce the cost-of-goods for monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins, resulting in more affordable therapeutic treatments for patients.”

Martina Molsbergen, VP Business Development at Crucell, added “The PER.C6® platform can reduce the risk of supply limitations and potentially postpone major capital expenditure decision hurdles for drug development companies. The 15 g/L milestone is instrumental in the further market penetration of the PER.C6® technology.”

About the PER.C6® Technology Platform
Crucell's PER.C6® technology platform has been developed for the large-scale manufacture of biopharmaceutical products including vaccines. Compared to conventional production technologies, the strengths of the PER.C6® technology lie in its excellent safety profile, scalability and productivity under serum-free culture conditions.

About Crucell
Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL; Swiss Exchange: CRX) is a biotechnology company focused on research, development and worldwide marketing of vaccines and antibodies that prevent and treat infectious diseases. Its vaccines are sold in public and private markets worldwide. Crucell’s core portfolio includes a vaccine against hepatitis B, a fully-liquid vaccine against five important childhood diseases, and a virosome-adjuvanted vaccine against influenza. Crucell also markets travel vaccines, such as the only oral anti-typhoid vaccine, an oral cholera vaccine and the only aluminium-free hepatitis A vaccine on the market. The Company has a broad development pipeline, with several Crucell products based on its unique PER.C6® production technology. The Company licenses this and other technologies to the biopharmaceutical industry. Important partners and licensees include DSM Biologics, Sanofi Aventis, Novartis, Wyeth and Merck & Co. Crucell is headquartered in Leiden (the Netherlands), with subsidiaries in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Korea and the US. The Company employs over a 1000 people. For more information, please visit  www.crucell.com

About DSM Biologics
DSM Biologics, a business unit of DSM Pharmaceutical Products, is a global provider of manufacturing technology & services to the biopharmaceutical industry. In addition to offering world-class biopharmaceutical manufacturing services, DSM Biologics has co-exclusive rights, along with Dutch biotech company Crucell N.V., to license the high-producing PER.C6® human cell line as a production platform for recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. The combination of the PER.C6® human cell line and DSM’s manufacturing services provides companies with a turn-key biologic manufacturing solution reducing cost, risk and time to market.