New awards of $300 million for Quinvaxem(R) bringing total value up to $800 million

LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS--(Marketwire - August 17, 2009) - Dutch biopharma company
Crucell N.V. (Euronext, Nasdaq: CRXL) (SWISS: CRX) today
announced that a large supranational organization has awarded the
first portion of new contracts worth $300 million for supplies of
Crucell's Quinvaxem® paediatric vaccine. The new contracts are the
largest ever received by Crucell and cover the period 2010-2012, with
the initial awarded amount expected to grow even further over those
three years.

These contracts are in addition to the $500 million obtained over the
tender period 2007-2009, and support the superior quality and
reliability of Crucell's fully-liquid pentavalent vaccine. They bring
the total value of contracts awarded since the launch of Quinvaxem®
at the end of 2006 to $800 million. During the first tender round in
2006, Crucell was initially awarded $230 million (Dec 2006) and
received additional incremental awards of $130 million and $140
million in May and September, 2008, respectively.

"This new award for the period 2010-2012 emphasizes Crucell's
position as a leading supplier of important vaccines. We are very
proud that by means of our pentavalent vaccine we are able to save
lives by making a significant contribution to children's vaccination
programs in the developing world," said Ronald Brus, Crucell's Chief
Executive Officer.

Following the WHO prequalification in September 2006, the combination
fully liquid pentavalent vaccine was made available to supranational
purchasing organizations. Supranational organizations are major
customers for combination vaccines, which are used in large
vaccination programs in developing countries.

Quinvaxem® is a fully liquid vaccine combining antigens for
protection against five potentially deadly childhood diseases:
diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, and
Haemophilus influenzae type B (hib). As the first internationally
available fully liquid vaccine containing all five of these antigens,
Quinvaxem® offers major healthcare advantages, particularly in
countries with a challenging infrastructure and hygiene problems.

About Crucell

Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL) (SWISS: CRX) is a
global biopharmaceutical company focused on research development,
production and marketing of vaccines, proteins and antibodies that
prevent and/or treat infectious diseases. Its vaccines are sold in
public and private markets worldwide. Crucell's core portfolio
includes a vaccine against hepatitis B, a fully-liquid vaccine
against five important childhood diseases and a virosome-adjuvanted
vaccine against influenza. Crucell also markets travel vaccines, such
as the only oral anti-typhoid vaccine, an oral cholera vaccine and
the only aluminum-free hepatitis A vaccine on the market. The Company
has a broad development pipeline, with several product candidates
based on its unique PER.C6® production technology. The Company
licenses its PER.C6® technology and other technologies to the
biopharmaceutical industry. Important partners and licensees include
DSM Biologics, sanofi-aventis, Novartis, Wyeth, GSK, CSL and Merck &
Co. Crucell is headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands, with
subsidiaries in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Korea and the U.S.
The Company employs over 1000 people. For more information, please
visit www.crucell.com.

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
22, 2009, in the section entitled 'Risk Factors'. The Company
prepares its financial statements under International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS).

For further information please contact:

Oya Yavuz
Vice President
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Tel: +31-(0)71-519 7064
ir@crucell.com

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