Crucell 2008
Combating Infectious Diseases
Annual Report and Form 20–F

• What Corporate Social Responsibility means to us
• What we do
• A CSR dilemma
• Crucell on its mission to combat infectious diseases
• Who we work with
• An example: Warm response to cold chain training
• How we do business
• A partnership with customers illustrated
• Crucell's PER.C6^® technology
• How we see our responsibility
• Crucell works in an environment that requires highly skilled employees
• Innovative safety approach
• Beyond legislation for safety
• Environmental impact
• An example: Combining vaccines for a diversity of benefits
• Energy & water consumption
• Economic aspects of our business

What we do

Crucell has a clearly defined vision: to bring innovation to global health by discovering, developing, manufacturing, and marketing products that protect people from illness and death caused by infectious diseases. Crucell is the largest independent vaccine company in the world. The sustainability of our business is demonstrated by our solid balance sheet and strong cash position, which means that we do not need to raise capital in the foreseeable future. As a result, the unfolding economic crisis so far has had limited effects on our financial outlook.

Crucell’s definition of profit is twofold. We aim for financial profitability, but also to bring the greatest possible benefit to human health worldwide. The approach we have chosen to achieve this is essentially different from that of our biotechnology peers or traditional pharmaceutical companies. Whereas many others focus on treating illness, Crucell focuses on its prevention. And whereas most of the money currently spent on pharmaceutical research is directed towards finding solutions for lifestyle-related illnesses of the developed world, Crucell has developed a truly global healthcare strategy. Our existing and pipeline products are designed to meet the long underestimated – and still significantly unmet – need for vaccines and antibodies in developing countries and emerging economies, as well as the industrialized world. For a company of our size, we invest relatively heavily in research and development: our R&D expenditures in 2008 were €70 million.

Infectious diseases are responsible for almost one‑fifth of the total number of deaths that occur each year, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) statistics (source: World Health Statistics 2008). Overall, they rank second after cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death worldwide. The vast majority of people who die from infectious diseases live in the world’s poorest and most densely populated countries, although increased global travel and climate change are expanding the reach of infectious pathogens. The full impact of infectious diseases has to be measured not only by the millions of fatal cases, but also in terms of the much larger burden of illness and suffering, lost productivity and even ruined holidays. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to infectious diseases, with the latter forming a growing group due to the aging population. According to the WHO, about 25 million deaths that occur each year in children under five are caused by diseases that can be prevented with vaccines.

Crucell’s focus on the prevention of infectious diseases offers long-term benefit to individuals and society, compared to treatment-based approaches. Our vaccines – and the antibodies now progressing through our R&D pipeline – have a vital role to play in protecting lives, preventing suffering and supporting the economic well-being of societies. Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective healthcare interventions and has many indirect benefits for society, as demonstrated by childhood immunization programs. As well as protecting the children themselves from illness, death and possibly permanent disability, these programs prevent the spread of disease in the community.

Crucell is currently combating twelve major infectious diseases with its armamentarium of marketed vaccines (see pages 22-23 of the 2008 Annual Report). In 2008 Crucell sold more than 100 million vaccine doses in more than 80 countries throughout the world, which makes us the largest independent vaccine player in the world. We focus strongly, though not exclusively, on unmet medical needs in the developing world, where infectious diseases exert their heaviest toll.

In 2008, Crucell’s vaccines were administered to a vast number of people worldwide, thereby preventing more than 3 million cases of infectious diseases and over 700,000 deaths that would otherwise have occurred. These figures are based on the expected number of cases, and fatalities among those cases, in a given population assuming a vaccine waste rate* of 2%.

Our production processes are described in more detail on page 52 of the 2008 Annual Report. The complex chain of steps to reach a final Crucell product has its impact on both society and the environment in which we operate. We understand that our impact on the planet is relatively modest, but we take our environmental footprint seriously, especially in relation to the end result of our core business: protecting people from illness and death caused by infectious diseases. In this chapter however we want to be transparent about our efforts to manage our responsibilities.

*

A waste rate is the percentage of doses that have gone to waste either because they were out of the ‘cold chain’ (i.e. they experienced temperatures that rendered the vaccine not useable) or because the vial was broken or because the shelf life has expired.

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