DSM announces major commercial agreement for services using its XD® Technology

PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DSM Pharmaceutical Products, the custom manufacturing and technology business of Royal DSM N.V. (NYSE, Euronext: DSM KON), announced today that it has signed a commercial agreement for contract manufacturing services using its proprietary XD® high cell density process technology with a major pharma company.

Karen King, President of DSM Biologics, commented "We are proud to announce that a major pharma company has chosen DSM's services and technology for three of their leading antibody pipeline projects for different indications. We will apply our XD® technology in combination with our technology portfolio, and manufacture from our Groningen, The Netherlands, and Brisbane, Australia facilities." XD® technology is a highly intensified cell culture process with titer achievement 5-to-15 times higher compared to current standard biomanufacturing processes. It is widely applicable for multiple products including proteins, fusion proteins and antibodies, and has been successfully employed across the full spectrum of mammalian cell systems.

DSM will complete the process development and commercial manufacturing for the products. These projects will be performed at the R&D and manufacturing site in Groningen and at new operations in Brisbane. The commercial demand will be met from Brisbane on a 500-litre XD® production line. Typically XD® has increased product titers by a factor of 5-to-15 times which means a 500L bioreactor can provide a DSM client with the same amount of drug substance as a 5000L stainless steel bioreactor at an overall lower cost. Brisbane is DSM's blueprint for its 'biologics plant of the future' for biopharmaceuticals manufacturing. DSM's proprietary technologies drive down cost, processing times and capital requirements to meet market demand for life saving medications. XD® has also shown impressive results for biosimilars and ethical drugs with respect to both volume and product quality.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

XD® is a registered trademark of DSM.

DSM -- Bright Science. Brighter Living.™
Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. By connecting its unique competences in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences DSM is driving economic prosperity, environmental progress and social advances to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM's 22,000 employees deliver annual net sales of about euro 9 billion. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext. More information can be found at www.dsmbiologics.com and www.dsm.com

Forward-looking statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to DSM's future (financial) performance and position. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. DSM cautions readers that such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore it should be understood that many factors can cause actual performance and position to differ materially from these statements. DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained in this press release, unless required by law. The English language version of the press release is leading.

SOURCE DSM Pharmaceutical Products