Johnson & Johnson Partners with Crucell

In an attempt to further their development of flu vaccines and antibodies, Johnson & Johnson has partnered with Crucell. The partnership, which involves Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, will also work to fight other types of diseases but will immediately focus on prevention and treatment of the flu.

Paul Stoffels of Johnson & Johnson recently talked about how a universal vaccine for flu strains would be a huge help in the health care industry.

Said Stoffels: “A universal antibody or vaccine that protects against a broad range of strains would be an important advance in helping doctors and nurses manage the annual influenza season and control acute epidemic and pandemic outbreaks. We are excited about this collaboration with Crucell because it provides us access to antibody and vaccine know-how and technology.”

Crucell is a biopharmaceutical that researches and develops vaccines for infectious diseases. The company has more than one thousand employees and is headquartered in the Netherlands.

“We are delighted that this collaboration with Johnson & Johnson will strengthen and facilitate our efforts to bring innovation to global health,” said Ronald Brus, the CEO of Crucell. “It provides an avenue to accelerate Crucell’s existing ‘flu-mAb’ program, which has already demonstrated the potential to deliver an antibody product for the prevention and treatment of any type of influenza strain.”

Flu Shot (Image: Flickr)