DSM Biologics, a business unit of DSM Pharmaceutical Products and Dutch
biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL; Swiss Exchange:
CRX) today announced a non-exclusive PER.C6® research licensing agreement with
Paris, France-based LFB Biotechnologies. LFB Biotechnologies will use
Crucell’s technology to develop undisclosed antibodies. No financial details
were disclosed.
During the research license period, Crucell and LFB Biotechnologies will also
evaluate a joint collaboration in the field of enhancing sugar structures,
described as glycosylation patterns, on recombinant antibodies using LFB’s
in-house developed technology.
About the PER.C6® Technology Platform
Crucell's and DSM’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 LFB Group
The LFB Group’s mission is to develop,
manufacture and market plasma-derived medicinal products and biotherapeutic
proteins. Created in 1994, LFB is a public limited company with the French
state as a majority shareholder. Based in France, the LFB is the 3rd
pharmaceutical group supplying drugs to hospitals in France. LFB SA is a
French pharmaceutical company comprised of a holding company and two operating
subsidiaries:
- LFB BIOMEDICAMENTS, 1100 employees, produces and markets a wide range of
plasma-derived medicinal products.
- LFB BIOTECHNOLOGIES, 200
employees, is dedicated to the group’s biotechnological activities and new
medicinal products Research & Development.
LFB S.A. currently has three foreign subsidiaries: LFB Hemoderivados in
Brazil, LFB Biopharmaceuticals Ltd in the United Kingdom and LFB GmbH in
Germany.
The LFB is ideally placed to become a driving force in new technological and
therapeutic fields. LFB focuses its discovery and development activities on
monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic proteins for rare and severe diseases
mixing and synergising different technologies: plasma purification, cell
culture, transgenic production. LFB uses Emabling®, its technology platform,
to develop highly functionally optimized antibodies while its R & D portfolio
contains high-potential projects calling on innovative technology. For more
information about the LFB Group, you can visit
http://www.lfb.fr.
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, GSK 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.
