Leiden/Sittard, The Netherlands, December 21, 2005 - Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL) and allied contract manufacturer DSM Biologics announced today that they have signed a second PER.C6® commercial license agreement with Ferring Pharmaceuticals. This license agreement allows Ferring to use the PER.C6® cell line in the production of a specific therapeutic protein. As with the first license, announced in May of 2005, the protein will be applied in the field of women's health care. Financial details were not disclosed.

 

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.

 

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. For more information, please visit www.dsmbiologics.com.

 

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.