DSM Biologics, a business unit of DSM Pharmaceutical Products and Dutch
biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL; Swiss Exchange:
CRX) today announced that German-based MorphoSys AG has decided to extend the
PER.C6® technology licensing agreement entered in September 2004, exercising
an option for clinical and commercial production of antibodies. The extended
license agreement allows MorphoSys to use the PER.C6® production platform for
its proprietary therapeutic cancer antibody program MOR202, as well as for
clinical and commercial production of MOR202. Financial details of the
agreement were not disclosed.
About MorphoSys AG
MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR;
Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) is a publicly traded biotechnology company
focused on the generation of fully human antibodies as a means to discover and
develop innovative antibody-based drugs against life-threatening diseases.
MorphoSys’s goal is to establish HuCAL as the technology of choice for
antibody generation in research, diagnostics and therapeutic applications. The
Company currently has therapeutic and research alliances with the majority of
the world largest pharmaceutical companies including Boehringer Ingelheim,
Centocor/Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche. Within these
partnerships, more than 50 therapeutic antibody programs are ongoing in which
MorphoSys participates through exclusive license and milestones payments as
well as royalties on any end products. Additionally, MorphoSys is active in
the antibody research market through its AbD Serotec business unit. The
business unit has operations in Germany (Munich), the U.S. (Raleigh, NC) and
U.K. (Oxford). For further information please visit
http://www.morphosys.com/
HuCAL® and HuCAL GOLD® are registered
trademarks of MorphoSys AG
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.
