3SOF

3 year chart...Awesome. 
Target $32 (one analyst)

Vaccine maker seeks faster production method
Dutch firm using next-generation technology to tackle age-old problem
  Related Stories     
• New vaccine method may help fight bird flu   
• Bird flu questions and answers 
• Inhaled bird flu vaccine in the works 
• Regulators cooperate in speeding bird flu vaccines
• U.K. plans mass vaccination against bird flu   

Mike Huckman
Reporter

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With a vaccine industry that's been dormant for decades, fears of a pandemic avian flu outbreak have re-ignited the race for protection against the deadly disease.

Now, one Amsterdam-based company is using next generation technology to tackle an age-old problem.

Medicine has come a long way since newsreels about the 1957 flu pandemic touted the latest vaccines "produced at the highest rate possible through the standard slow method of incubating the virus in eggs."

But in many respects, vaccine production is still stuck in the 1950s. So President Bush is offering the drug industry a nearly $3 billion shot in the arm to rocket vaccine science into the future.

"By bringing cell-culture technology from the research laboratory onto the production line," Bush said in a Nov. 1 speech to the National Institutes of Health, "we should be able to produce enough vaccine for every American within six months of the start of a pandemic."

That may be so, but only if a pandemic is years away.

Many experts and investors consider the Netherlands-based biotechnology company Crucell to be at the forefront of cell-based vaccine technology. But company chief executive Dr. Ronald Brus says his firm isn't even close to being ready to crank out the hundreds of millions of shots a year needed for a pandemic.

"A best case scenario at this moment in time -- and I don't want to be overly optimistic -- would still be a three-year timeframe," he said in a recent interview with CNBC.

Crucell and its flu vaccine partner, Sanofi Aventis, recently won a nearly $100 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to speed things along.

That money, plus more cash from Sanofi, puts Crucell in the unusual position of being able to plow all of its revenue straight into research and development.

The company used to have just three people working on the flu vaccine project in its labs outside Amsterdam. Today there are 40 taking old human cells from the retina and feeding them so they can multiply in this chamber. The cells are then stockpiled so there's enough experimental flu vaccine available for lab tests.

Dr. Jaap Goudsmit, Crucell's Chief Scientific Officer, is confident the technology will work.

"There's nobody doubting that ten years from now there will be no egg-based vaccine anymore," he said. "it will be all cell-based."

A so-called "clean room" at Crucell is actually filled with the flu. In fact, inside this freezer the virus is being stored at about 80-degrees below zero centigrade -- just waiting to be mixed with human cells inside this bioreactor.

After the human cells and the virus are churned in here for just one to two weeks, the vaccine's finished. The old-fashioned way with eggs takes months.

"So what we did is replace the chicken egg thing with a bioreactor," said Brus. "And we could make faster, cleaner and much bigger quantities of the vaccine in a shorter period of time."

Crucell is in a race against time with companies like Chiron and Novavax -- all working on different types of cell-based vaccine technology.

Brus says he doesn't like to brag or boast but "we just got a beautiful set of cards, right.  And we're playing a certain game... but we still need to win the game." 

(CNBC's Steve Lewis contributed to this report.)

TradingMarkets.com
TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need To Know For Thursday
Wednesday January 4, 4:47 pm ET
By Brice Wightman


American Eagle Outfitters (NasdaqNM:AEOS - News) reported comps +9.8%, more than expected.AEOS's Power Rating is 3.


Xilinx (NasdaqNM:XLNX - News) raised December guidance, saying sales are expected to grow 11-12% sequentially. XLNX's Power Rating is 4.

Men's Wearhouse (NYSE:MW - News) reported comps +8.1%--more than expected--and guided higher for Q4. MW's Power Rating is 4.

Kronos (NasdaqNM:KRON - News) guided lower. KRON's Power Rating is 5.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqNM:BCRX - News) will be in focus after a human case of bird flu was found in Turkey. BCRX's Power Rating is 5.

Other possible bird flu plays are:

Crucell (NasdaqNM:CRXL - News). CRXL's Power Rating is 5.

Novavax (NasdaqNM:NVAX - News) NVAX's Power Rating is 6.

Press Release Source: Crucell N.V.


Crucell Licenses STAR(TM) Technology to XOMA for Research Use
Thursday January 5, 2:16 am ET


LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 5, 2006 -- Leiden, The Netherlands, January 5, 2006 - Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL) announced today that it has signed a non-exclusive STAR(TM) research license agreement for the production of monoclonal antibodies and other proteins with Berkeley, California-based XOMA Ltd. (NasdaqNM:XOMA - News). Financial details were not disclosed.


"XOMA regularly evaluates technologies that can help us stay at the cutting edge of antibody and recombinant protein technology," said Jack Castello, XOMA's President and CEO. "Crucell's STAR(TM) technology may complement XOMA's expertise at producing high yields of pure antibodies and other recombinant proteins because it may improve the productivity of our protein expression systems and help to identify high-producing clones very efficiently."

"We are very pleased to announce another STAR(TM) technology licensing agreement," added Crucell's CEO Ronald Brus. "STAR(TM)'s ability to enhance production yields, and its broad applicability, could potentially see licensing follow a similar growth pattern to that demonstrated by our PER.C6® technology."

About STAR(TM) Technology

STAR(TM) technology is a production technology that is particularly useful for the production of recombinant human antibodies and proteins. It has a potentially broad application and is effective for production of antibodies and proteins on mammalian cell lines such as Crucell's PER.C6® human cell technology and the widely used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line. STAR(TM) technology contains genetic elements, called STAR(TM) elements, that enable stable and high-yield gene expression important to recombinant antibody and protein production in mammalian cells. The technology has the potential to increase production yields, thereby reducing production costs. STAR(TM) technology was discovered by Dr. Arie Otte (Nature Biotechnology 2003 May, 21 (5)) who founded Chromagenics B.V., a spin-off company of the University of Amsterdam acquired by Crucell in March 2004.

About Crucell

Crucell N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines and antibodies that prevent and treat infectious diseases, including Ebola, influenza, malaria, West Nile virus and rabies. The company's development programs include collaborations with: sanofi pasteur for influenza vaccines; the U.S. 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 PER.C6® production technology. The company also licenses its PER.C6® technology to the biopharmaceutical industry. Licensees and partners include DSM Biologics, GSK, Centocor and Merck & Co., Inc. Crucell is headquartered in Leiden, The Netherlands, and is listed on the Euronext and NASDAQ stock exchanges (ticker symbol CRXL). For more information, please visit www.crucell.com.

About XOMA

XOMA is a pioneer and leader in the discovery, development and manufacture of therapeutic antibodies, with a therapeutic focus that includes cancer and immune diseases. XOMA has a royalty interest in RAPTIVA® (efalizumab), a monoclonal antibody product marketed worldwide (by Genentech, Inc. and Serono, SA) to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. XOMA's discovery and development capabilities include antibody phage display, bacterial cell expression, and Human Engineering(TM) technologies, plus a fully integrated drug development infrastructure. The company pipeline also includes proprietary programs in preclinical and clinical development. For more information please visit XOMA's website at http://www.xoma.com/.

Crucell's Licensing Program Disclosure Policy

Crucell believes it has a duty to inform (potential) investors and other stakeholders about every licensing agreement it reaches with third parties - regardless of the significance of current or future revenue or royalties generated by the agreement. Crucell fulfils this duty by issuing a press release that invariably consists of the name of the contract party, the nature of the license and an indication of the relevant technology or therapeutic area. This ensures that every potential investor or interested party can be fully up-to-date with all licensing agreements made by Crucell with third parties. An overview of all Crucell's licensees and partners can be found on the Company's website, including an overview of each relevant product's phase of development.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We have identified certain important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements. For information relating to these factors please refer to our Form 20-F, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 14, 2005, and the section entitled "Risk Factors". The company prepares its financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (US GAAP).


For further information please contact:

Crucell N.V.
Harry Suykerbuyk
Director Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Tel. +31 (0)71 524 8718
[email protected]

For Crucell in the US:
Redington, Inc.
Thomas Redington
Tel. +1 212-926-1733
[email protected]
Copyright © Hugin ASA 2006. All rights reserved.

Contact:   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Crucell N.V.

Headline News Link......  http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=CRXL
 
Tue, Mar 14, 2006
• Crucell, DSM unit sign licensing deal with UCB
at Reuters (Tue, Mar 14)

• Crucell and DSM Biologics Announce PER.C6(R) Licensing Agreement with UCB
Market Wire (Tue, Mar 14)

Thu, Mar 9, 2006
• Crucell and DSM Biologics Announce PER.C6(R) Licensing Agreement with UMN Pharma
Market Wire (Thu, Mar 9)
 
Fri, Mar 3, 2006
• Galapagos announces 2005 annual results
Market Wire (Fri, Mar 3)

Thu, Feb 23, 2006
• S&P STOCK PICKS AND PANS: S&P Cuts BellSouth Shares to Sell
at BusinessWeek Online (Thu, Feb 23)

Wed, Feb 22, 2006
• First Trading Day of Crucell Shares on SWX Swiss Exchange
Market Wire (Wed, Feb 22)
 
Thu, Feb 16, 2006
• Find the 20-Baggers of the Next 20 Years
at Motley Fool (Thu, Feb 16)
 
Thu, Feb 2, 2006
• Galapagos and BASF extend research collaborations
Market Wire (Thu, Feb 2)
 
Tue, Jan 24, 2006
• Crucell Announces 2005 Annual Results
Market Wire (Tue, Jan 24)
 
• Q4 2005 Crucell Earnings Release - 07:30 am ET
CCBN (Tue, Jan 24)

Thu, Jan 19, 2006
• Galapagos and Cancer Research Technology announce new anti-cancer drug discovery collaboration
Market Wire (Thu, Jan 19)

Wed, Jan 18, 2006
• Galapagos Expects 4Q '05 Revenues to Meet Guidance, Reduced Full Year 2005 Cash Burn
Market Wire (Wed, Jan 18)

• Crucell and Ark Therapeutics Extend PER.C6(R) Agreement with Commercial License
Market Wire (Wed, Jan 18)
 
Mon, Jan 16, 2006
• Galapagos enters new collaboration in autoimmune discovery research
Market Wire (Mon, Jan 16)

Fri, Jan 13, 2006
• Crucell to Release 2005 Earnings on Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Market Wire (Fri, Jan 13)
 
Tue, Jan 10, 2006
• Crucell Shareholders Approve Exchange Offer for Berna Biotech
Market Wire (Tue, Jan 10)
 
• [$$] Novartis rules out bid for Berna Biotech
at FT.com (Tue, Jan 10)
 
• Crucell Issues Trading Update
Market Wire (Tue, Jan 10)

Thu, Jan 5, 2006
• TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need To Know For Today
TradingMarkets.com (Thu, Jan 5)
 
• Crucell Licenses STAR(TM) Technology to XOMA for Research Use
Market Wire (Thu, Jan 5) 

Interesting price action on a, not so hot of a day in the markets.
Can be considered an avian flu play since they make vaccines, although they have other products and technology.
Symmetrical Triangle (continuation) Pattern "Breakout"!!!

13-day EMA Cross Above 50-day EMA
Gap Up

Last Price Quote is:
7.80%above 13-day EMA
8.53%above 50-day EMA
RS Rating: 65 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $1,027.31 
P/E Ratio: NA 
PEG Ratio: N/A 
Next Earnings: 04/17/2006
Last Analyst Rating: Underperform

CRXL is a beast. TrudytheMonkey first touted it to me when it was in the $3's. I bought and sold at $4 . Been long more or less since $9.50 though. Trudy's target is 2010. That's either $2,010 per share or the year 2010, whichever comes first.

Use the search and you could have found this thread!

Please use the search before starting new threads.
Why not run your comments to update a thread that already exist....

Located here..... http://www.3stocksonfire.org/trading/index.php?topic=653.15

 The last post on CRXL on "3stocksonfire" was dated March 25th, 2006.
From that date until the next post on CRXL, by myself on September 22, 2006*, the PPS performance of CRXL looked like this:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=CRXL&p=D&st=2006-03-25&en=2006-09-22&id=p72188655726

  I consider CRXL a hold, or accumulate. My target is approx. $28-30 by year-end, 2006.
CRXL is still my largest core holding, from Sept.  2004 @$5.68, although I reduced my position in the $28-$30 range on two separate occasions, and also diversified my position through the accumulation of a position in Galapagos Genomics (Amsterdam:GLPGA.AS), which is 9.8% owned by Crucell, NV.

I added to CRXL in my trading account on 9/25/06- yesterday, @$22.50. My capital source was a reduction in GLPGA.AS trading shares.

Please see the multiple news items on CRXL on 9/26/06 regarding vaccine development (Quinvaxem, endemic influenza, Ebola). 9/26/06 was Crucell's largest volume day of trading ever in Amsterdam.

The current chart looks like this:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=CRXL&p=D&st=2006-04-01&id=p78487755330

My trading shares target is $25.00 on this short-term trade.
My L-T CRXL position remains intact.

All the best,
                       -rand


* I deleted this post, since it was not placed on the same thread as the preceding post, which was  six months prior to mine, at a time when the PPS of CRXL was approx. 25% higher..

A 'Pandemic' Now Declared, Focus Back on Swine Flu Stocks
On Friday June 12, 2009, 12:00 pm EDT

The H1N1 virus is officially a pandemic, and vaccine stocks are responding.

Swine flu stocks are up again today, with some extending weekly gains to more than 20%. A number of companies released good news to end the week. From small-cap players to multi-billion dollar giants, shares are up big on high volume. Novartis (NYSE: NVS) announced today that it will have a swine flu vaccine ready by this fall. Shares are up by 4% on the news.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization raised its alert level on the virus to "Phase 6," indicating that it has officially become a pandemic.

As a whole the Swine Flu and Bird Flu Stocks Index is up by 2.5%. It is now beating the S&P 500 by 35.5% over the last month.

Generex Biotechnology (NASDAQ: GNBT) is leading the Index today with 10% gains. The company was granted five new patents for its drug delivery systems. The patents were awarded in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Lebanon. The stock is still in negative territory this week by -3%.

Sinovac Biotech (AMEX: SVA) is adding another 3% to its industry-leading 30% weekly rally. On Monday the company announced that it had begun production of a swine flu vaccine, and noted that it could produce up to 30 million doses per year.

Vical (NASDAQ: VICL) has fallen from earlier highs, and is now trading up fractionally. Thomas Weisel initiated coverage of the company today with an Overweight rating and a $5 price target. The analyst cited Vical's proprietary technology, strategic partnerships, and licensing agreements.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Hemispherx Biopharma (AMEX: HEB) are both ahead by more than 4% today.

Pure Bioscience (NASDAQ: PURE) and AVI Biopharma (NASDAQ: AVII) are industry laggards today, falling by -3% and -6% respectively.

As of this writing the Swine Flu and Bird Flu Stocks Index is a top-three performing tickerspy Index over the last month, gaining 39.5%.

Investors can follow the Swine Flu and Bird Flu Stocks Index and view related performance charts and metrics at tickerspy.com.

Investors can follow the Swine Flu and Bird Flu Stocks Index and view related performance charts and metrics at tickerspy.com.
http://www.tickerspy.com/index/Swine-Flu-and-Bird-Flu-Stocks?refer=2028Y3

boom !!!
Ascending Triangle (continuation) Pattern

BreakOut...

J&J Bids $2.3 Billion for Crucell...

Johnson & Johnson is in advanced talks to pay $2.3 billion in cash for the portion of Dutch vaccine maker Crucell NV that it doesn't already own in a bid to increase its foothold in vaccines.

J&J has agreed to retain the company's senior management and its existing facilities after the acquisition.

Crucell, based in Leiden, the Netherlands, said its management and board support the proposed €24.75 ($32.28)-a-share offer. Last year, it earned €23.9 million on revenue of €358 million.

However, Crucell's second-largest shareholder said the offer is inadequate.