Crucell Announces STAR Research License Agreement with Medarex
March 25, 2008: 09:10 AM EST
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. today announced a non-exclusive STAR® research license agreement with biopharmaceutical company Medarex for the production of monoclonal antibodies. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
About STAR® Technology
STAR® technology is a production technology that is particularly useful for the production of recombinant human antibodies and proteins. It has a potentially broad application and is effective for production of antibodies and proteins on mammalian cell lines such as Crucell's PER.C6® human cell technology and the widely used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line. STAR® technology contains genetic elements, called STAR® elements, that enable stable and high-yield gene expression important to recombinant antibody and protein production in mammalian cells. The technology has the potential to increase production yields, thereby reducing production costs.
About Crucell
Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL; Swiss Exchange: CRX) is a global biotechnology company focused on research, development, production and marketing of vaccines, proteins and antibodies that prevent and treat primarily 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 aluminum-free hepatitis A vaccine on the market. The Company has a broad development pipeline, with several product candidates based on its unique PER.C6® production technology. The Company licenses its PER.C6® technology 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, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Korea and the US. The Company employs over a 1000 people. For more information, please visit www.crucell.com.
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 June 13, 2007, and the section entitled "Risk Factors". The Company prepares its financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (US GAAP) and Europe (IFRS).