Released on: January 14, 2008, 10:01 am

Press Release Author: b3c newswire

Industry: Biotech

Press Release Summary: CEVEC Pharmaceuticals GmbH today announced that an opposition
to a patent owned by Crucell N.V., Leiden, Netherlands before the European Patent
Office was again successful.

Press Release Body: Cologne, Germany, January 14, 2008 / b3c newswire / - CEVEC
Pharmaceuticals GmbH, the specialist supplier for human expression technologies,
today announced that an opposition to a patent owned by Crucell N.V., Leiden,
Netherlands (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL, Swiss Exchange: CRX), before the European
Patent Office was again successful. This is the second time within a year that the
Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) has restricted a patent on
Crucell's PER.C6 cell line.

In the recently granted Europatent 1161548, Crucell tries to strengthen the patent
protection surrounding its PER.C6 cell line used as a human expression system. The
Opposition Division of the EPO has restricted this patent. The product claim now
only relates to immortalized human embryonic retinal cells comprising a gene for
monoclonal antibodies or erythropoietin. It does not protect cells used for
producing human or viral proteins. This means that Crucell's attempt of indirectly
achieving extended product protection for its PER.C6 cell line as comprehensive
expression system has failed.

"The marketing of CEVEC's human expression technology is completely independent of
this opposition proceeding, however. At no point was successful opposition necessary
for the marketing of the CAP technology," emphasizes Dr. Christoph Volpers, Chief
Operating Officer of CEVEC Pharmaceuticals.

Yet the result of the opposition case has appreciable strategic importance for the
growing market for human biotechnological production systems. CEVEC had already
succeeded in an earlier opposition to Crucell's EP patent 833 934. In both the
proceedings, CEVEC was represented by Munich patent attorneys Dehmel & Bettenhausen.



About CEVEC Pharmaceuticals GmbH - www.cevec-pharmaceuticals.com

CEVEC is one of the very few specialist suppliers in the world for efficient human
expression technologies. Among the company's most important developments are the CAP
and PIOS technologies for industrial manufacture of biopharmaceuticals (for example,
proteins and antibodies). The production of human proteins in human expression
systems is becoming more and more important. CEVEC proceeds on the belief that in
future many biologicals used in research and medicine will be preferentially
produced in human cell lines. CEVEC's innovative CAP and PIOS technologies are
particularly suitable for this purpose, since the underlying expression technologies
are based on normal human cells. The qualitative and regulatory standards required
for therapeutics are strictly observed from cell isolation to production of
manufacturing-grade cell lines.





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Contact Details: For further information concerning CEVEC Pharmaceuticals GmbH:

CEVEC Pharmaceuticals GmbH
Gottfried-Hagen-Str. 62
51105 Cologne
Telephone: 0221-46020800
E-Mail: info@cevec-pharmaceuticals.com
Website: www.cevec-pharmaceuticals.com