Crucell Announces Marketing and Distribution Deal with Sanquin
Leiden, The Netherlands, November 12, 2007 - Dutch biotechnology
company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL, Swiss Exchange: CRX)
today announced the start of a marketing and distribution agreement
with Sanquin, the Dutch Blood Supply Foundation.
Under the terms of the agreement, Crucell will get exclusive
distribution rights of Cofact® - Sanquin's prothrombin complex of
blood factors II, VII, IX and X which is currently in MRP (mutual
recognition procedure) registration - in a number of Crucell's key
markets including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Italy. Crucell
will also have a right of first refusal for China, Korea and a number
of Eastern European countries.
Crucell's Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Brus said: "This deal
complements the distribution agreement that is in place with Talecris
since April 2007. Both deals are in line with our protein strategy to
enhance Crucell's market presence with plasma derived products."
Cofact® is a market leading product in the Netherlands and Belgium
with approximately ¤ 10 million in sales annually in these countries
alone. The European market is estimated to amount up to ¤ 100
million. Cofact® is aimed at promoting blood-clotting for patients
treated with anti-coagulants that have bleeding as a result of trauma
or urgent surgery, or for prophylactically treating patients with
Factor II, VII and X deficiencies.
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 pipeline, with several products based on its unique PER.C6®
production technology in development. The Company licenses this 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, 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 International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) with reconciliation to the generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States (US GAAP).
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
