MARTINSRIED, GERMANY and MUNICH, GERMANY--(Marketwire - January 23, 2012) -
MorphoSys AG / MorphoSys Strengthens Patent Position on MOR202 Program
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MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today
that the
US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent
covering the
Company's cancer compound MOR202. The new patent (US 8,088,896)
covers
MorphoSys's HuCAL antibody against CD38 as well as pharmaceutical
compositions
comprising the same, and has a scheduled expiry date in 2028, not
including any
potential regulatory extensions.
"In 2011, MOR202 became our third proprietary antibody program in
clinical
trials, following MOR103 in rheumatoid arthritis and multiple
sclerosis and
MOR208 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia," commented Dr. Marlies Sproll,
Chief
Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "Strengthening our intellectual
property
position on our proprietary products, particularly in our most important
markets
Europe, the USA and Asia, is of high priority for MorphoSys."
MOR202 is a fully human HuCAL antibody directed against CD38, a
therapeutic
target for the treatment of multiple myeloma and certain forms of leukemia.
The
HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody is currently being tested in a phase
1/2a
trial* in patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma.
Currently, MorphoSys is prosecuting more than 40 different proprietary
patent
families world-wide, in addition to those being pursued in cooperation
with its
partners.
*Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as
part of
Munich's leading edge cluster m4 - Personalized medicine and targeted
therapies
About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys developed HuCAL, the most successful antibody library technology
in
the pharmaceutical industry. By successfully applying this and other
patented
technologies, MorphoSys has become a leader in the field of therapeutic
antibodies, one of the fastest-growing drug classes in human healthcare.
The
company's AbD Serotec unit uses HuCAL and other antibody technologies to
generate superior monoclonal antibodies for research and diagnostic
applications.
Together with its pharmaceutical partners, MorphoSys has built a
therapeuticpipeline of more than 70 human antibody drug candidates for the
treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease, to name
just
a few. With its ongoing commitment to new antibody technology and drug
development, MorphoSys is focused on making the healthcare products of
tomorrow.
MorphoSys is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol MOR.
For
regular updates about MorphoSys, visit http://www.morphosys.com
HuCAL®, HuCAL GOLD®, HuCAL PLATINUM®,
CysDisplay®, RapMAT® and
arYla® are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG. Ylanthia® and
100 billion
high potentials™ are trademarks of MorphoSys AG.
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.
Media Release:
http://hugin.info/130295/R/1579254/492754.pdf
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originality of the information contained therein.
[HUG#1579254]
