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Crucell Secures EUR 2 Million Grant from Dutch Ministry to Discover Antibodies Against Antibiotic-resistant Bacterial Infections

20 Sep 2005 - Crucell N.V. announced that it has received a grant of up to EUR 2 Million from the SenterNovem Innovation Subsidy for Collaborative Projects program of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. The grant supports a collaborative effort aimed at applying Crucell's MAbstract® technology to the discovery of antibodies to assist in the future development of new medicines against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
 
Antibiotic resistance is spreading at an alarming rate among bacteria, with more than 200,000 patients dying of hospital-acquired infections annually in the US and Europe. Bloodstream infections, pneumonia and tissue infections affect almost 2 million patients each year, contributing US$ 5 billion to annual healthcare costs in the US alone.
 
Crucell has assembled a network of leading research institutes for the project, including Harvard Medical School in the US and specialized groups from Dutch universities. In the course of the project the Company intends to exploit its antibody technology, known as MAbstract®, together with its vaccine and production platforms, to facilitate the future development of treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. MAbstract® technology can be used to discover drug targets, such as proteins from infectious agents including bacteria and viruses, and also to identify human antibodies against those drug targets.