Crucell and Talecris in protein licensing deal
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Crucell is to receive up to $32.5 million for licensing its PER.6 cell line technology to Talecris Biotherapeutics.Talecris will gain an exclusive commercial licence to the technology for the development of an undisclosed and specific protein. The Dutch company will receive $2.5 million up front following the execution of the agreement and be eligible for a further $30 million in milestone payments across multiple indications. The PER.6 platform enables the large-scale manufacture of biopharmaceuticals such as recombinant proteins, including monoclonal antibodies. Talecris is being acquired by Australia'sCSL, the world's second largest manufacturer of plasma products, for $3.1 billion (ScripOnline, August 14th, 2008).