Message from our CEO
Crucell’s mission to bring meaningful innovation to global health reflects a deep commitment to improving the lives of people worldwide. This underpins everything we do as a global organization and as individuals united by a common purpose.
I am therefore delighted that talks held with Johnson & Johnson during 2010 have resulted in Crucell becoming the center of excellence for vaccines within the world’s largest and possibly most respected healthcare company. As a member of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, we can do so much more to make the world we live in a healthier place. The combination of our two companies will enable Crucell to further accelerate growth, and our shared expertise and talent will help to make an even bigger difference in the lives of people worldwide. We are delighted by the prospect of pursuing our mission with the support of Johnson & Johnson that shares our passion for healthcare innovation, our values and our commitment to care for people.
Protecting and contributing to society in the fullest possible sense and to the best of our ability is our core business, our passion and the essence of our company. Our commitment to the principles of corporate social responsibility is a logical extension of our mission to bring innovation to global health, focusing especially on the prevention of infectious diseases.
During 2010, we distributed over 105 million1 doses of vaccines to people around the world, with the majority going to infants in developing countries. The range of vaccines we have on the market prevents twelve major infectious diseases: childhood infections, travel and endemic illnesses, and respiratory disease. We estimate that a Crucell vaccine was given to 190 individuals2 every minute during 2010, a thought that makes us very proud.
However, I believe that the best measure of our impact on global health is not the number of doses we supply, but the number of deaths and cases of disease we prevent each year. In 2010, Crucell’s ‘top-five’ vaccines prevented more than 3.6 million cases of infectious disease and 809,823 deaths.1
Crucell’s core business is the discovery, development and delivery of innovative solutions for major health threats. Our specialty is the creation of much-needed immunization products: vaccines that safely and effectively mobilize the body’s own immune defenses against infections, and antibodies that provide ‘ready-made’ immune protection against invading microbes. After clean water, immunization is believed to be the most cost-effective health intervention and its key role in promoting the socioeconomic development of countries is becoming increasingly clear.
The world population is predicted to reach 7 billion in 2011 and protecting these billions of individuals from infectious diseases is more important and challenging than ever. Trends such as climate change, globalization, urbanization, wider travel and population aging are presenting new opportunities for infectious pathogens to thrive and spread. Doing our utmost to tackle this problem is our primary responsibility and our privilege. It lies at the heart of Crucell. More importantly, I see that we are expanding the boundaries of that reality, day by day. Innovation is the foundation on which Crucell was built, and the fuel driving us forward.
“Crucell’s core business is the discovery, development and delivery of innovative solutions for major health threats.”
Improving healthcare access
The cover photograph of this booklet shows an Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) session set up by the non-governmental organization Friendship in collaboration with local governmental agents in Bangladesh. The mothers holding young babies are waiting in line for their infants to receive Crucell’s Quinvaxem® vaccine. With support from Crucell, Friendship has set up the cold chain to enable children in these remote char areas to be immunized. This initiative is one of many described in our corporate social responsibility (CSR) report in this booklet.
The EPI was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1974 with the aim of ensuring that all children in all countries benefit from life-saving vaccines. The first diseases targeted by the EPI were diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, measles, poliomyelitis and tuberculosis. In 1977, the WHO established global policies for immunization and set the goal of universal immunization for all children by 1990, as an essential element of the WHO strategy to achieve health for all.
In 2009, an estimated 82% of children globally had received at least three doses of diphtheria–tetanus—pertussis vaccine (DTP3) by one year of age, which has traditionally been used as an indicator of EPI coverage. Additional vaccines have progressively been added to the original six recommended by the WHO in 1974. The EPI remains committed to the goal of universal access to all relevant vaccines for all at risk.
Information on the EPI was sourced from the WHO website.
Our achievements so far are thanks to the tireless efforts and dedication of our loyal employees, Crucell’s most important asset. In 2010 hundreds of talented people were recruited in order to further boost our capacity to bring innovation to global health going forward.
Ronald H.P. Brus
President and Chief Executive Officer

Leiden, the Netherlands, April 18, 2011
- 1
- Figure based on Crucell’s top five vaccines in terms of sales volumes: Quinvaxem®, Hepavax-Gene®, Epaxal®, Vivotif® and Inflexal® V.
- 2
- Figures based on Crucell’s top 5 vaccines Quinvaxem®, Hepavax-Gene®, Epaxal®, Vivotif® and Inflexal® V. Total 101,666,000 doses minus 2% waste (2,033,320 doses) = 99,632,680 doses sold in 2010 / 525600 minutes in 2010 = 189.5598 doses administered per minute.