September 28th, 2009

Philadelphia Inquirer Reports:

TOSTERLING

The Associated Press

AMSTERDAM – U.S. health care products maker Johnson & Johnson Inc. has bought an 18 percent stake in Dutch biotechnology company Crucell NV for euro301.8 million ($440 million) in hopes to develop a universal flu vaccine, the companies said Monday.

In a joint statement, the companies said their immediate focus would be on developing “monoclonal antibodies” , which bind to a target protein, alerting the body’s own immune system to attack it.

Crucell was awarded grants worth up to $69 million by the U.S. government in August to develop its range of monoclonal antibodies for influenza, which Crucell says have shown early promise in fighting “a wide range” of seasonal and pandemic flu viruses.

In fact the company claims the antibodies can fight any influenza, including swine flu and bird flu, and including those flu strains resistant to Tamiflu , the medicine currently most often used to slow their progression.

In the long term, Crucell and Johnson & Johnson said they wish to develop a universal flu vaccine. They also hope to use similar antibodies to fight other diseases, including rabies.

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