Crucell and its partner DSM Biologics have appointed Dr. Marco Cacciuttolo chief executive officer of the two companies joint PER.C6 R&D Center, which will be located in Cambridge, MA.

Dr. Cacciuttolo joins the venture with more than 10 years of experience in technical operations within the pharma and biopharma industries. Dr. Cacciuttolo has held positions of increasing responsibility at MedImmune, Inc. and most recently at Medarex, Inc. as the vice president of technical operations.

“We are delighted to bring Marco Cacciuttolo on board as chief executive officer. He has a strong track record in the biopharma industry, and will provide strong leadership to the technology venture,” said Dr. Leendert Staal, president and chief executive officer of DSM Pharmaceutical Products. “We are excited with the move to the Boston area, which marks an important next step in the development of our joint venture with Crucell.”

The new R&D center will specialize in the further development of the PER.C6 human cell line to make it a premier system for the expression of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins. This technology platform will comprise cell line generation technology, tailored cell culture media, fermentation processes, equipment design, scale-up, technology transfer, and regulatory support.

Dr. Cacciuttolo stated, “I welcome the opportunity to strengthen the technological possibilities that PER.C6 offers to the entire biotechnology industry as a premier expression system for fully human proteins.”

The new center will recruit approximately 50 scientific and support staff and the commencement of operations is expected before the end of this year.