Leiden, The Netherlands, January 17, 2002 - Dutch antibody and vaccine company Crucell (NASDAQ, Euronext: CRXL) today announced it has appointed Stef Heylen as its Vice-President Development and Regulatory Affairs as per March 1, 2002.

 

Prior to joining Crucell, Dr. Heylen was VP Medical Affairs for Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA) of Johnson & Johnson's division Janssen-Cilag. Since 1987 Heylen worked for the Janssen Research Foundation in various senior management positions related to clinical R&D, regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance.

At Crucell Dr. Heylen will handle all contacts with regulatory agencies, design and implement Crucell's clinical trials and serve on the joint-steering committees with Crucell's current and future co-development partners. He will also take responsibility for Crucell's filings with the USA-FDA that relate to the Company's proprietary PER.C6 human cell line.

Crucell has a strong pre-clinical pipeline of antibody and vaccine products. Its CD-46 antibody against cancer is being co-developed with Centocor, a Johnson & Johnson company, and is expected to enter the clinic in 2003. Merck & Co is currently in Phase I/II trials with its experimental HIV vaccine, which is produced on PER.C6.

Crucell's CEO Dinko Valerio welcomed Dr. Heylen's broad senior management experience in all aspects of drug development and regulatory affairs. "This appointment is aimed at facilitating regulatory approval and will further facilitate the development of our antibody and vaccine products."

Dr. Heylen's past achievements include building Janssen-Cilag's EMEA Medical Affairs organization, overseeing the global Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance department for the Janssen Research Foundation, and in this capacity dealing extensively with regulatory agencies worldwide. Prior to that he achieved successful global clinical development and regulatory approval of the blockbuster Risperdal. Dr. Heylen obtained his MD from the University of Leuven in Belgium.


About Crucell
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell discovers and develops novel antibodies and vaccines against cancer, inflammatory disease and infectious disease.

Crucell discovers novel disease targets and develops fully human antibodies against them. Commercialisation takes place by pharmaceutical firms in return for upfront payments, milestones and royalties. Crucell's anti-CD 46 antibody against multiple myeloma, breast cancer, and colon cancer is being co-developed with Centocor, a Johnson & Johnson company.

Crucell is currently developing antibodies against colon cancer, breast cancer, anti-angiogenesis, leukaemia and inflammation and has additional programs in oncology, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Crucell will leverage its proprietary MAbstract technology to discover two new targets and antibodies every single year.

Crucell also plays an essential role in the development of Merck & Co's HIV vaccine. Merck & Co has obtained the exclusive rights to use Crucell's PER.C6 human cell system for the production of the vaccine's key adenoviral vector. Merck & Co is currently conducting Phase I/II trials with its vaccine.

The company has furthermore developed a revolutionary new flu vaccine production system, based on its patented human cell system PER.C6. PER.C6 is widely embraced by the industry for the production of gene therapy products and viral vectors.

Crucell has been listed on the NASDAQ and Euronext since October 2000. Crucell has its headquarters in Leiden, the Netherlands, and currently employs some 180 people.

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. See our Form 20-F, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 29, 2001 and the section of the Form 20-F entitled "Risk Factors".

 

Please click on the link provided to view the entire press release: