J&J to acquire remainder of Crucell

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. Johnson & Johnson is set to buy up the remaining portion of Dutch biotech company Crucell that it doesn’t already own, J&J said Friday.

The drug maker said the two companies were in “advanced negotiations” for J&J to buy up the remainder of Crucell for around $2.3 billion. J&J currently owns slightly less than 18% of the company through an affiliate.

J&J said it would benefit from Crucell’s expertise in vaccines and gain a “strong platform” in the vaccine market. The drug maker said it plans to keep Crucell as the center for vaccines in the conglomerate and maintain its headquarters in Leiden, Netherlands.