MARTINSRIED, GERMANY and MUNICH, GERMANY--(Marketwire - January 31, 2011) -
MorphoSys AG /
MorphoSys Reaches Clinical Milestone with Pfizer
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MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today
that it
has received a milestone payment from Pfizer in connection with the IND
filing
in December 2010 and subsequent initiation of a phase 1 clinical trial
of a
HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody in the therapeutic area of oncology.
"We are delighted to add Pfizer to the list of partner companies
running
clinical trials with HuCAL-based antibodies," commented Dr. Marlies
Sproll,
Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "In total, seven different
partners
from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry are currently
running
clinical trials with our antibodies."
MorphoSys and Pfizer originally entered a collaboration for the
development of
therapeutic antibodies in December 2003. In December 2006, MorphoSys
announced
an early expansion of its collaboration with Pfizer. Under the
extended
agreement, Pfizer secured an option to begin several therapeutic
antibody
projects with MorphoSys.
MorphoSys's clinical pipeline currently comprises ten partnered
programs in
Phase 1 and five in Phase 2 development as well as the Company's
proprietary
programs MOR103, which is in a Phase 1b/2a trial for rheumatoid
arthritis, and
MOR208, which is in a Phase 1 trial for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys is an independent biotechnology company that develops novel
antibodies
for therapeutic, diagnostic and research applications. The Company's HuCAL
technology is one of the most powerful methods available for generating
fully
human antibodies. By successfully applying this and other proprietary
technologies, MorphoSys has become a leader in the field of therapeutic
antibodies, one of the fastest-growing drug classes in human health-care.
Through its alliances with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical
companies,
MorphoSys has created a pipeline of more than 60 drug candidates. The
Company is
expanding its drug pipeline by adding new partnered programs, and by
building a
portfolio of fully-owned therapeutic antibodies. For its proprietary
portfolio,
the Company is focused on the areas of oncology and inflammation. Its most
advanced program MOR103, a first-in-class, fully human antibody against GM-
CSF,
is currently being tested in a Phase Ib/IIa trial in rheumatoid arthritis
patients. Via its business unit AbD Serotec, MorphoSys is expanding the
reach of
its technologies in the diagnostics and research markets. MorphoSys is
headquartered in Munich, Germany and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
under the symbol "MOR". For further information,
visithttp://www.morphosys.com/
HuCAL®, HuCAL GOLD®, HuCAL PLATINUM®, CysDisplay®
and RapMAT® are
registered trademarks of MorphoSys; arYla™ is a trademark of MorphoSys.
This communication contains certain forward-looking statements
concerning the
MorphoSys group of companies. The forward-looking statements contained
herein
represent the judgment of MorphoSys as of the date of this release and
involve
risks and uncertainties. Should actual conditions differ from the
Company's
assumptions, actual results and actions may differ from those
anticipated.
MorphoSys does not intend to update any of these forward-looking
statements as
far as the wording of the relevant press release is concerned.
MorphoSys AG
Lena-Christ-Str. 48 Martinsried / München Germany
WKN: 663200;ISIN: DE0006632003;Index:TecDAX,CDAX,Prime All Share,TECH All
Share,HDAX,MIDCAP;
Listed: Freiverkehr in Börse Stuttgart,
Freiverkehr in Hanseatische Wertpapierbörse zu Hamburg,
Freiverkehr in Börse Berlin,
Freiverkehr in Börse Düsseldorf,
Freiverkehr in Bayerische Börse München,
Freiverkehr in Niedersächsische Börse zu Hannover,
Prime Standard in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse,
Regulierter Markt in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse;
Press Release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/130295/R/1483533/418774.pdf
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other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: MorphoSys AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1483533]
