Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. announced that GlaxoSmithKline has decided to renew its PER.C6 technology license agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, GlaxoSmithKline has a non-exclusive, worldwide license to use PER.C6 technology for research and clinical development of viral-vectored biopharmaceutical products, with an option for a commercial license. Crucell will receive upfront and annual payments. Further financial details were not disclosed.

Crucell N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines and antibodies that prevent and treat infectious diseases, including Ebola, influenza, malaria and West Nile virus. The company's development programmes include collaborations with Aventis Pasteur for influenza vaccines, the US National Institutes of Health for Ebola and malaria vaccines, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and New York University for a malaria vaccine.

Crucell's products are based on its innovative PER.C6 technology, which offers a safer, more efficient way to produce biopharmaceuticals. The company licenses its PER.C6 technology to the biopharmaceutical industry on a mostly non-exclusive basis. Licensees and CMO partners include DSM Biologics, GSK, Centocor/J&J and Merck & Co, Inc.