Leiden, The Netherlands, July 18, 2005 - Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL) today announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half-year of 2005.

 

Revenue for the first six months of 2005 increased to € 16.1 million (US$ 19.4 million), compared to € 12.0 million (US$ 14.5 million) in the first six months of 2004. The net loss for the first half of 2005 decreased to € 8.7 million (US$ 10.5 million) from € 9.1 million (US$ 11.0 million) in the same period last year. Cash and cash equivalents amount to € 120.3 million (US$ 145.1 million) on June 30, 2005.

 

"The 34% growth in revenue in the first six months of this year over last year is mainly driven by a strong increase in service fees, reflecting stepped-up development activities with our partners," said Crucell's Chief Financial Officer Leonard Kruimer. "The recent capital raise of € 52.2 million opens opportunities to fund in-house development of our proprietary antibodies, proteins and STAR(TM) technology. Strong cash inflow from license and service fees also allows us to maintain our guidance for cash burn for the year at € 15 to 20 million, despite increased development activity."

 

Key Figures Second Quarter and First Half 2005

 

 

 

 

         Ebola: Crucell and the NIH signed a € 21.4 million contract for the manufacturing of Ebola vaccines.

 

         Influenza: Crucell's production technology became part of a major U.S. government influenza pandemic vaccine program as sanofi pasteur secured a US$ 97 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for cell-based vaccine development.

 

         West Nile antibody: Crucell discovered a monoclonal antibody for protection against West Nile virus. The antibody, derived from patients who survived West Nile infection, effectively neutralizes the virus and fully protects mice from infection.

 

         STAR(TM) technology: A program was initiated with biotechnology company Medarex, Inc. to evaluate Crucell's STAR(TM) technology. The program will be performed with a Medarex antibody.

 

         Licensing: A new PER.C6® licensing deal was secured by the Crucell-DSM alliance with Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

 

         Intellectual property: Crucell received a total of 13 patents during the first half of 2005, including a number of patents covering the Company's core technologies and programs.

 

 

 

 

 

Crucell's revenues for the second quarter of 2005 were € 10.1 million (US$ 12.2 million), compared to € 8.0 million (US$ 9.7 million) in the same quarter last year. License revenue in the second quarter 2005 amounted to € 6.5 million (US$ 7.8 million). License revenue consisted of initial payments from new contracts as well as annual and other payments on existing contracts and included a second milestone payment from DSM.

 

Service fees amounted to € 2.6 million (US$ 3.2 million), compared to € 1.5 million (US$ 1.8 million) in the second quarter of 2004. Service fees represent revenues for product development activities performed under contracts with partners and licensees.

 

Government grants and other revenues amounted to € 1.0 million (US$ 1.2 million), up from € 0.8 million (US$ 1.0 million) in the same quarter last year.

 

 

The Company reported a net loss for the second quarter 2005 of € 3.4 million (US$ 4.1 million), or € 0.09 net loss per share (US$ 0.11). This compares to a net loss of € 2.0 million (US$ 2.5 million), or € 0.06 net loss per share (US$ 0.07) for the second quarter 2004.

 

Total costs and expenses increased 33% over the same quarter last year, reflecting the stepping up of development activity. Total research and development (R&D) expenses in the second quarter 2005 were € 7.6 million (US$ 9.1 million), compared to a figure of € 4.7 million (US$ 5.7 million) in the second quarter of 2004. Cost of service fees were € 2.2 million (US$ 2.6 million) for the quarter, compared to € 1.2 million (US$ 1.4 million) last year.

 

Selling, general and administrative (SGA) expenses for the second quarter 2005 were € 2.9 million (US$ 3.5 million), compared to € 3.6 million (US$ 4.3 million) for the same quarter in 2004. This reduction in SGA expenses is due to a reduction in warrant expenses and a reduction in other general and administrative expenses.

 

 

 

Crucell's revenues for the first half of 2005 amounted to € 16.1 million (US$ 19.4 million), up 34% on the € 12.0 million (US$ 14.5 million) recorded in the same period of 2004. License revenues in the first half year were € 8.3 million (US$ 10.0 million) compared to € 7.9 million (US$ 9.5 million) last year.

 

Service fees amounted to € 5.1 million (US$ 6.2 million) for the half year compared to € 2.2 million (US$ 2.6 million) for the same period in 2004.

 

Government grants and other revenues of € 2.6 million (US$ 3.2 million) for the half year compare with € 2.0 million (US$ 2.4 million) for the first half of 2004.

 

Crucell seeks to increase revenues from year to year. The Company has in the past experienced significant fluctuations in quarterly revenues and expects to continue to experience such fluctuations in the future.

 

 

The net loss for the first half of 2005 was € 8.7 million (US$ 10.5 million), or € 0.23 net loss per share (US$ 0.28), a decrease of 4% compared to the net loss of € 9.1 million (US$ 11.0 million), or € 0.25 net loss per share (US$ 0.30) for the first six months of 2004.

 

Total research and development expenses in the first half-year 2005 were € 13.5 million (US$ 16.2 million), compared to € 10.8 million (US$ 13.1 million) in the same period of 2004. Cost of service fees were € 4.1 million (US$ 4.9 million) compared to € 1.6 million (US$ 1.9 million) in the first half of 2004, reflecting the strong increase in service fees year on year.

 

Selling, general and administrative (SGA) expenses for the first half of 2005 were € 5.6 million (US$ 6.7 million), a significant decrease from the € 7.7 million (US$ 9.3 million) in the same period last year. This is due to a reduction in warrant expenses included in SGA as well as a reduction in other administrative expenses.

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents recorded a net increase of € 43.6 million (US$ 52.6 million) in the first half of 2005. Cash used in operations was € 10.7 million (US$ 12.9 million). Crucell raised € 50.1 million net in a private equity offering priced at € 14.50 per share. The capital raised will support the acceleration of Crucell's product development with new opportunities in antibodies and therapeutic proteins. Total net proceeds from the May 10th private placement in addition to proceeds from options exercised in the first six months of 2005 amount to € 55.5 million (US$ 67.0 million). Furthermore, total lease payments made and investments in equipment amount to € 1.2 million (US$ 1.5 million). Crucell's cash and cash equivalents amount to € 120.3 million (US$ 145.1 million) on June 30, 2005.

 

 

Crucell options were listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) where trading began on May 19, 2005. On July 13, Euronext.liffe announced that Crucell options will begin trading in Europe on September 21, 2005. Crucell options are also traded on the AMEX and Pacific stock exchanges.

 

Crucell shall lodge its IFRS financial report for the first half-year 2005 with Euronext before September 30, 2005; this report will be available via Crucell's website, www.crucell.com.

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

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