MARTINSRIED, GERMANY and MUNICH, GERMANY--(Marketwire - February 08, 2013) - MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) today announced that the
US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted the first patent
covering the
Company's latest antibody platform Ylanthia, which became commercially
available
for existing and new partners in 2012.
"A growing patent portfolio on our new antibody platform Ylanthia
is an
important factor for a successful partnering process in our core
licensing
markets, which we intend to intensify during the course of 2013",
commented Dr.
Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG.
The new patent (US 8,367,586) covers the composition of MorphoSys's
Ylanthia
antibody library. Ylanthia comprises more than 100 billion distinct, fully
human
antibodies, which makes it the industry's largest known antibody Fab
library. It
uses 36 fixed, naturally-occurring heavy and light chain framework
combinations,
which translates into unprecedented structural diversity. The
library's
diversity is expected to result in antibodies against previously
inaccessible
target molecules and unique epitope coverage.
Ylanthia's antibody frameworks were pre-selected for expression
levels,
stability and aggregation behavior. A shift towards higher stability and
stress
tolerance will increase shelf life and serum stability of resulting
antibody
products, making them more cost-effective to produce and administer. A
higher
solubility in turn opens up the path for more convenient ways of
administration,
to the benefit of patients. When needed, antibodies from the Ylanthia
library
are optimized using MorphoSys's proprietary Slonomics technology.
Slonomics
enables optimization of Ylanthia antibodies with unprecedented speed
and
flexibility.
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.
Together with its pharmaceutical partners, MorphoSys has built a
therapeutic
pipeline 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®, arYla®,
Ylanthia® and 100 billion high potentials® are registered
trademarks of
MorphoSys AG.
Slonomics(®) is a registered trademark of Sloning BioTechnology
GmbH, a
subsidiary 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 (PDF):
http://hugin.info/130295/R/1676426/546392.pdf
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
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#1676426]
