Who we work with
Crucell cannot operate in isolation. In our daily work to bring benefits to people’s lives, we interact with a large number of stakeholders worldwide. These include legislators, investors, strategic business partners, licensees, suppliers, and customers. Establishing and maintaining good relationships through continuous dialogue with all of these parties is integral to our CSR. The dialogue has had a specific impact on our approach to CSR. A good example is our partnership with customers as described on the following pages.
Legislators
The business in which Crucell operates is highly regulated, and Crucell complies with the wide range of legislation that applies to our activities. Besides adhering to regulations, we cooperate with representatives of various legislative bodies.
Investors
Crucell maintains an active and transparent approach to relations with shareholders and investors, informing them regularly about the company’s strategy and developments. Quarterly results releases, presentations and press releases on important business developments are disseminated on a regular basis and reinforced with briefings by phone and in person. Crucell has a dedicated Investor Relations team whose mission it is to ensure the investor community clearly understands the company’s prospects and performance. This reflects a serious ambition to widen our investor base as well as to deepen existing investors’ understanding of Crucell while always listening to investors’ needs and ideas. Our investors make our work possible and share in our success. They share our vision and support our core business of protecting people all over the globe from infectious diseases. A continuous dialogue with investors is therefore at the forefront of our activities. As described on page 177 of the Annual Report, we actively talked to large numbers of (potential and existing) shareholders and investors all over the world in 2008.
Business partners
Partnering with other companies is of strategic importance to Crucell and essential for fulfilling our mission. Whether the partnership takes the form of a strategic alliance for product development, a technology licensing agreement, or a marketing and sales alliance, Crucell works closely with its partners to ensure success for both organizations. For more information on the strategic agreements Crucell has established with several leading companies go to www.crucell.com/Partners.
Licensees
A wide range of pharmaceutical and biotech companies license Crucell’s proprietary technologies, which enable the discovery, development and production of vaccines, antibodies, therapeutic proteins, and gene therapy products. One of the key Crucell technologies that attracts licensees is the PER.C6® manufacturing platform based on human cell lines.
Suppliers
Crucell must be able to rely on suppliers to provide raw materials and equipment of consistently high quality, without delay or interruption. We therefore keep close track of our suppliers, perform quality control tests on the goods they deliver and conduct inspections of their facilities as deemed appropriate. Legislation from regulatory authorities such as the US’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lays down the minimum requirements for this monitoring of suppliers and supplies.
Customers
Crucell’s customers are important to us in two ways. By buying our products, they fund the continuation of our activities, including R&D aimed at bringing further healthcare innovations to market. They also represent the vital link to the consumer, ensuring that our products reach the people who need them.