Janssen Vaccines, formerly Crucell, is a

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

company specializing in

vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. A vaccine typically contains an ag ...

and biopharmaceutical technologies. It was formed when

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

acquired the Dutch biotech company Crucell. Janssen Vaccines is part of Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine business segment. __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. Janssen Vaccines is part of Johnson & Jo ...

, Crucell's predecessor, was established as a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

. The company formed a partnership with

Genzyme Genzyme (also known as Genzyme Transgenics Corp or GTC Biotherapeutics) was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From its acquisition in 2011 to 2022 Genzyme operated as a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi. In 2010, ...

to collaborate on its vector technology and viral-based products. In 1999 the company founded Galapagos Genomics as a joint venture together with Tibotec. 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 (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

saying Crucell and

Wyeth Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was a pharmaceutical company until it was purchased by Pfizer in 2009. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as John Wyeth and Brother. Its headquarters moved to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, a ...

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 corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

'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, colloquially known as flu shots or the flu jab, 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 thei ...

. This followed Crucell's discovery of CR6261, 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 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). Knowledge about the structure and func ...

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

Janssen Biotech Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (formerly Janssen Pharmaceuticals) is a Belgian pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Ph ...

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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

that was developed during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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