Crucell strengthens PER.C6 DSM deal
agreement, building on existing work achieved in the PER.C6 Protein
and Monoclonal Antibody Licensing Business.
Plans to expand on the original deal are based on the successful outcome between the two companies and the hope is any product born out of this agreement will make a significant impact in the burgeoning protein market.
"The protein market is growing rapidly and may reach $200 billion (€168 billion) in 15 to 20 years, and we believe that PER.C6 has the potential to become the production platform of choice for an attractive part of that market," said Leendert Staal, President of DSM Pharmaceutical Products.
"We want to pursue the significant income potential of the PER.C6 licensing business model."
Under the terms of the new agreement, which was signed in 2002 and has been amended, the two companies will produce recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies on PER.C6 to increase licensing and royalty income.
The partnership's Research and Development to create this new platform will be based around a new joint R&D centre, located in the Netherlands and the US East Coast.
Crucell and DSM's package will include optimised clone generation technology, tailored media, batch, fed-batch and perfusion fermentation processes, fermentation equipment design, scale-up and scale-down solutions and regulatory support.
Based on the progress made and milestones achieved with PER.C6 and an extensive evaluation of the market, DSM has selected the PER.C6 protein and monoclonal antibody licensing business with Crucell as one of its focal points for intensified innovation in its new strategy, Vision 2010.
In line with this strategy re-orientation DSM Biologics will concentrate its contract manufacturing activities in Groningen in the Netherlands, and will focus on supporting licensees of the PER.C6 technology.
"We strongly believe that the intensification of our efforts will allow us to capture significant market share with the PER.C6 licensing business," said Ronald Brus, Crucell's CEO.
To date, Crucell and DSM have signed 20 PER.C6 licenses for production of various proteins, including licenses to companies with marketed proteins such as Merck, Roche, Ely Lilly/AME and J&J/Centocor.
Crucell's PER.C6 expression platform has been a real asset to the company, and has been licensed to numerous companies to produce vaccines and protein therapeutics.
Compared to the most commonly-used cell lines, such as Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, PER.C6 does not require amplification of inserted genes to deliver stable clones.
