Janssen Vaccines, formerly Crucell, is a

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

company specializing in

vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and pro ...

and biopharmaceutical technologies. It was formed when

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

acquired the Dutch biotech company Crucell based in Leiden and placed it in their pharmaceutical division. __TOC__

History

In 1993

Introgene Janssen Vaccines, formerly Crucell, is a biotechnology company specializing in vaccines and biopharmaceutical technologies. It was formed when Johnson & Johnson acquired the Dutch biotech company Crucell based in Leiden and placed it in their ph ...

, Crucell’s predecessor, was established as a spin-off of

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. The company formed a partnership with

Genzyme Genzyme was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since its acquisition in 2011, Genzyme (also known as Genzyme Transgenics Corp or GTC Biotherapeutics) has been a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi. In 2010, Genzyme ...

to collaborate on its vector technology and viral-based products. In 1999 the company founded Galapagos Genomics as a joint venture together with

Tibotec Tibotec was a pharmaceutical company with a focus on research and development for the treatment of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. The company was founded in 1994 and then acquired by Johnson & Johnson and merged into its Jan ...

. In 2000 IntroGene acquired U-Bisys to form Crucell. In 2006, Crucell and Swiss Berna Biotech; Swedish SBL Vaccines and US-based Berna Products joined forces to become the sixth largest vaccine company worldwide, with their own clinical programs. On 7 January 2009 Crucell released a

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

saying Crucell and

Wyeth Wyeth, LLC was an American pharmaceutical company. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as ''John Wyeth and Brother''. It was later known, in the early 1930s, as American Home Products, before being renamed to Wyeth in ...

were in discussion on a merger of the two companies. On 26 January 2009 Crucell released another press release saying the discussions on a combination of Crucell and Wyeth was discontinued due to

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

's acquisition of Wyeth. In September 2009

bought 18% stake in Crucell for €302 million in order to collaborate on the development of a

flu vaccine Influenza vaccines, also known as flu shots, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While their effectiveness varies fro ...

. This followed Crucell's discovery of

CR6261 CR6261 is a monoclonal antibody that binds to a broad range of the influenza virus including the 1918 "Spanish flu" (SC1918/H1) and to a virus of the H5N1 class of avian influenza that jumped from chickens to a human in Vietnam in 2004 (Viet04/H5). ...

, a potent human antibody that neutralizes a broad range of influenza A viruses. J&J acquired the rest of the company in October 2010, taking its stake to over 95% by February 2011 and delisting the company from stock exchanges two months later. After the takeover by Johnson & Johnson in 2011, Crucell was assigned to

Janssen Pharmaceuticals Janssen Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly-owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Pharmaceuticals was purchased by New Jersey-based American c ...

division. In 2014, the subsidiary was renamed from Crucell to Janssen Vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccine development

Janssen Vaccines in Leiden developed the

COVID-19 vaccines A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an est ...

for Johnson & Johnson. Initial production of the vaccine is happening at

Janssen Biotech Janssen Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly-owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Pharmaceuticals was purchased by New Jersey-based American ...

in Leiden, Netherlands. The vaccine stands out because it is the first single-shot vaccine against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

that was developed during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

{{Johnson & Johnson University spin-offs Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries Companies based in South Holland Biotechnology companies of the Netherlands Biotechnology companies established in 2000 2000 establishments in the Netherlands 2009 mergers and acquisitions Vaccine producers COVID-19 vaccine producers