Joint R&D center to be established on US East Coast and in the Netherlands

Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL) and DSM Biologics, a business unit of DSM Pharmaceutical Products (a business group of Royal DSM NV) announced today that they will strengthen and expand the development of the PER.C6® protein and monoclonal antibody licensing business. The two companies will create an integrated solution for the production of recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies on PER.C6® in order to increase licensing and royalty income and accelerate the development and roll-out of the PER.C6® technology platform in the market.

Crucell and DSM will develop and offer a fully integrated PER.C6® protein and monoclonal antibody production package for licensees to provide a true turn-key solution for protein and monoclonal antibody production. The system will include optimized clone generation technology, tailored media, batch, fed-batch and perfusion fermentation processes, fermentation equipment design, scale-up and scale-down solutions and regulatory support. The partnership’s Research and Development to create this new platform will be based around a new joint R&D center, located in the Netherlands and the US East Coast.

The parties will expand their business development, marketing and customer services activities in the US and Europe. In addition, to accelerate the roll-out of the PER.C6® technology platform in the market and establish PER.C6® as the platform of choice for the industry, the parties will implement a new strategy of partnering with other players with protein capability to develop and offer services for PER.C6® and provide flexibility for PER.C6® licensees to select their service provider.

Based on the progress made and milestones achieved with PER.C6® to date and an extensive evaluation of the market, DSM has selected the PER.C6® protein and monoclonal antibody licensing business with Crucell as one of its focal points for intensified innovation in its new strategy, Vision 2010. In line with this strategy re-orientation DSM Biologics will concentrate its contract manufacturing activities in Groningen in the Netherlands, and will focus on supporting licensees of the PER.C6® technology.

“The protein market is growing rapidly and may reach USD 200 billion in 15 to 20 years, and we believe that PER.C6® has the potential to become the production platform of choice for an attractive part of that market,” said Leendert Staal, President of DSM Pharmaceutical Products. “We want to pursue the significant income potential of the PER.C6® licensing business model.”

“We strongly believe that the intensification of our efforts will allow us to capture significant market share with the PER.C6® licensing business,” said Ronald Brus, Crucell CEO. “We are convinced that this will create significant value for our shareholders.”

The existing collaboration agreement between DSM and Crucell, which was signed in 2002, has been amended.

To date, Crucell and DSM have signed 20 PER.C6® licenses for production of various proteins, including licenses to companies with marketed proteins such as Merck, Roche, Ely Lilly/AME and J&J/Centocor.

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 Pasteur 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 PER.C6® production technology. The company also licenses its PER.C6® technology to the biopharmaceutical industry. 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 a leading contract manufacturer 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. The company and Crucell have co-exclusive rights to license the high-producing PER.C6® human cell line to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry as a production platform for recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. Established in 1986, DSM Biologics operates a manufacturing facility in Groningen, the Netherlands.