Crucell announces new STAR® technology research license in agreement
with Invitrogen Corporation
Leiden, The Netherlands, September 6, 2007 - Dutch biotechnology
company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL, Swiss Exchange: CRX)
today announced a non-exclusive STAR® research license agreement with
Invitrogen Corporation's PD-Direct(TM) Bioprocess Services. The
license with Carlsbad, California based Invitrogen covers the
production of monoclonal antibodies.
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. STAR®
technology was discovered by Dr. Arie Otte (Nature Biotechnology 2003
May, 21 (5)) who founded Chromagenics B.V., a spin-off company of the
University of Amsterdam acquired by Crucell in March 2004.
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.
About Invitrogen
Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN) provides products and services
that support academic and government research institutions and
pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to
improve the human condition. The company provides essential life
science technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and
commercial bioproduction. Invitrogen's own research and development
efforts are focused on breakthrough innovation in all major areas of
biological discovery including functional genomics, proteomics,
bioinformatics and cell biology -- placing Invitrogen's products in
nearly every major laboratory in the world. Founded in 1987,
Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and conducts
business in more than 70 countries around the world. The company is
celebrating 20 years of accelerating scientific discovery. Invitrogen
globally employs approximately 4,300 scientists and other
professionals and had revenues of more than $1.15 billion in 2006.
For more information, visit www.invitrogen.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).
For further information please contact:
Media: Investors/Analysts:
Barbara Mulder Oya Yavuz
Director Corporate Communications Director Investor Relations
Tel: 31-(0) 71 519 7346 Tel. +31-(0) 71-519 7064
press@crucell.com ir@crucell.com
www.crucell.com www.crucell.com
