LEIDEN, Netherlands, July 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext:CRXL) (Nasdaq:CRXL) and allied contract manufacturer DSM Biologics announced today that they have signed a PER.C6(R) research license agreement with Danish biotechnology company Symphogen A/S. This license agreement allows Symphogen to evaluate and use the PER.C6(R) cell line for production of its proprietary recombinant polyclonal antibodies, known as symphobodies.
Symphogen has opted to evaluate the PER.C6(R) cell line for use with Sympress(TM), its proprietary expression platform, for consistent manufacturing of its symphobody compositions.
Under the terms of the agreement, Symphogen will pay a signing fee and annual maintenance fees. Further financial details are not disclosed.
"We are very pleased that Symphogen has chosen to evaluate the PER.C6(R) cell line for the manufacturing of its symphobody compositions," said Crucell CEO Dr Ronald Brus. "This agreement further validates the quality of our cell line technology and we look forward to working with Symphogen."
Dr John Haurum, Chief Scientific Officer at Symphogen, added: "We have chosen to test the PER.C6(R) cell line based on reports of its high expression yields. Our existing expression system is producing commercially viable yields but we are always looking for ways to improve production efficiency."
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(R) production technology. The Company also licenses its PER.C6(R) 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 has an exclusive license to use the high-producing PER.C6(R) human cell line as a production platform for recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. Established in 1986, DSM Biologics operates two manufacturing facilities, one in Groningen, the Netherlands (ca. 550 liters fermentor capacity and 2,400 m2) and one in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (ca. 6,000 liters fermentor capacity and presently 6,500 m2).
About Symphogen
Symphogen A/S is a biotechnology company pioneering therapeutic products based on natural human antibodies for the treatment and prevention of human disease. Using its proprietary technologies, Symphogen aims to develop and eventually market unique antibody-based products that mimic the diversity, affinity, and specificity of the natural human immune system. Antibody drug candidates are generated using the SymplexTM technology and the selected lead candidate may be polyclonal or monoclonal, depending on the nature of the target. The Company applies its proprietary expression platform, the SympressTM technology, for consistent manufacturing of recombinant polyclonal antibody compositions. Symphobodies offer a number of advantages over current plasma-derived immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of diseases characterized by complex target antigens, such as those found in infectious diseases, allergy, transplant rejection, and cancer. For more information, please visit www.symphogen.com.
Crucell's Licensing Program Disclosure Policy Crucell believes it has a duty to inform (potential) investors and other stakeholders about every licensing agreement it reaches with third parties - regardless of the significance of current or future revenue or royalties generated by the agreement. Crucell fulfils this duty by issuing a press release that invariably consists of the name of the contract party, the nature of the license and an indication of the relevant technology or therapeutic area. This ensures that every potential investor or interested party can be fully up-to-date with all licensing agreements made by Crucell with third parties. An overview of all Crucell's licensees and partners can be found on the Company's website, including an overview of each relevant product's phase of development.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We have identified certain important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements. For information relating to these factors please refer to our Form 20-F, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 14, 2005, and the section entitled "Risk Factors". The Company prepares its financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.
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