Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, Nasdaq: CRXL; Swiss Exchange: CRX) today announced that it has signed a second exclusive, commercial license agreement with North Carolina-based Talecris Biotherapeutics for an undisclosed and specific protein and the exclusive rights to produce that protein using the PER.C6® cell line.

Crucell will receive an upfront payment of $1.5 million following the execution of the agreement and will be eligible for milestone payments of approximately $20 million. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

In September Crucell announced that it had signed an exclusive, commercial license agreement with North Carolina-based Talecris Biotherapeutics also for an undisclosed and specific protein and the exclusive rights to produce that protein using the PER.C6® cell line. For that deal Crucell received an upfront payment of $2.5 million and is eligible for milestone payments of approximately $30 million across multiple indications.

About PER.C6® Technology
Crucell's PER.C6® technology platform has been developed for the large-scale manufacture of biopharmaceutical products such as recombinant proteins including monoclonal antibodies. Compared to conventional production technologies, the strengths of PER.C6® technology lie in its excellent safety profile, scalability and productivity under serum-free culture conditions