MARTINSRIED/MUNICH, Germany; POOLE, England and BRENTWOOD, New Hampshire, January 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) today announced the acquisition of two privately held companies, Biogenesis Ltd. (Poole/U.K.) and its sister company Biogenesis Inc. (Brentwood, New Hampshire/U.S.A.). With more than 20 years of experience in antibody development and manufacturing, and a comprehensive antibody catalogue, the combined Biogenesis group represents one of the larger European suppliers of antibodies to the life sciences research community. Research antibodies are a fast growing market accounting for global sales in excess of USD 800 million in 2004. Combined with MorphoSys' existing efforts in this area, the acquisition will establish MorphoSys as one of the top 5 European suppliers of research antibodies. The final agreements, signed on January 20, 2005, specify the purchase of 100% ownership of Biogenesis Ltd. and Biogenesis Inc. by MorphoSys for GBP 5.25 million, less net debt of approximately GBP 700,000, in cash. The two Biogenesis companies will become wholly owned subsidiaries of MorphoSys AG.
The acquisition of the Biogenesis group provides MorphoSys with immediate access to new market channels for its innovative HuCAL(R) antibody technology. As the HuCAL(R) technology provides a quantum leap in speed and flexibility over traditional antibody generation, the combined company will be able to deliver highly specific recombinant antibodies to customers significantly faster than existing animal-based methods. MorphoSys expects this to greatly increase the value of Biogenesis' current offerings. MorphoSys will continue to support Biogenesis's pre-existing portfolio of research products and at the same time utilize all opportunities to further market the HuCAL(R) technology to Biogenesis's worldwide customer and global distributor network.
MorphoSys AG Chief Executive Officer Simon Moroney, and Chief Financial Officer Dave Lemus retain their current respective positions within the enlarged MorphoSys group of companies. The acquired Biogenesis companies will be integrated with MorphoSys' existing research antibody business unit, Antibodies by Design. The enlarged research antibodies unit will be led by Dieter Lingelbach, currently Senior Vice President at MorphoSys AG and head of Antibodies by Design. The new unit will run alongside the existing therapeutic antibodies unit, which comprises the largest part of the MorphoSys business.
John Coward, the present Managing Director of Biogenesis Ltd., will become Chairman of the U.K. subsidiary and Joan Poehlman, current President of Biogenesis Inc., will serve as President of the U.S.A. subsidiary.
The acquisition of Biogenesis is an important strategic step for MorphoSys, one of the leading sources of next generation antibody therapeutics, in establishing its innovative HuCAL(R) technology in new antibody market segments. It follows the establishment of the Antibodies by Design unit in late 2003 to serve the research and diagnostics markets with custom monoclonal antibodies. While the therapeutic antibodies unit remains the key driver of the MorphoSys business, the expanded research antibodies unit becomes a more significant second pillar in the company's overall strategy.
"Today's transaction will help MorphoSys build the market for its HuCAL(R) technology by strengthening our position outside our core therapeutic antibody segment," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. "The acquisition of Biogenesis brings us immediate access to well-established sales channels plus substantial know-how in the research and diagnostics markets. Combining this with our proprietary technology will massively expand our sales & marketing reach and takes us one step closer to our goal of establishing HuCAL(R) as the technology of choice for antibody generation in all market sectors. "
"We are very excited to become a part of the MorphoSys group," commented John Coward, Managing Director of Biogenesis Limited. "We are convinced that new technology for generating antibodies offers the best avenue for growth in this sector, and as a leader in this field, MorphoSys is the ideal partner for the further development of our business. The combination of the two companies will be highly synergistic and creates an international antibody supplier with a unique profile."
MorphoSys will hold a public conference call on Thursday, January 20, 2005 at 10:30 CET to discuss the news release.
Dial-in number for the Conference Call (listen-only): +49-(0)69-2222-2245
Please dial in 10 minutes before the beginning of the conference.
After the conference, a replay of the conference call will be available on http://www.morphosys.com/.
About Biogenesis:
Biogenesis, founded in 1984, has established an enviable reputation in the provision of Immunological Reagents to the Research Community and to Industrial Clients. More recently Biogenesis has also established a similar reputation for the custom services offered by its Cell Culture Facilities in both the U.K. and U.S.A.
Operating from the South Coast of England and New Hampshire in the US Biogenesis offers a wide range of Custom Services, in addition to our comprehensive catalogue of over 6,000 products. For fiscal year 2004, total revenues of Biogenesis Ltd. U.K. amounted to GBP 1.8 million, and total revenues of Biogenesis Inc. U.S.A. amounted to USD 1.0 million. Biogenesis Ltd is registered to the ISO 9001: 2000 quality standard for all activities. The Company is situated in Poole, Dorset, UK and operates a 15,000 sq ft laboratory and office facility with 21 employees. Biogenesis Inc operates a 5,000 sq ft USDA approved lab and office facility in Brentwood, NH, USA., with 7 employees. In addition to its extensive research antibody catalogue, Biogenesis also has considerable expertise in 'Custom Project work' and Large Scale Industrial Sales. For further information please visit the corporate website at: http://www.biogenesis.co.uk/
About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys develops and applies innovative technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies, which accelerate drug discovery and target characterization. Founded in 1992, the Company's proprietary Human Combinatorial Antibody Library (HuCAL(R)) technology is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company currently has licensing and research collaborations with Bayer (Berkeley, California/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Wilmington, Delaware/USA), Centocor Inc. (Malvern, Pennsylvania/USA), GPC Biotech AG (Munich/Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel/Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Novartis AG (Basel, Switzerland), Novoplant GmbH (Gatersleben/Germany), Pfizer Inc. (Delaware/USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Rehovot/Israel), Schering AG (Berlin/Germany) and Xoma Ltd. (Berkeley, California/USA). MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market through its Antibodies by Design business unit. Antibodies by Design was founded in 2003 for the purpose of exploiting the MorphoSys non-therapeutic antibody markets. The business unit presently has 115 active customers in 17 countries, For further information please visit the corporate website at: http://www.morphosys.com/
Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect future operations and business prospects include, but are not limited to, clinical and scientific results and developments concerning corporate collaborations and the company's proprietary rights and other factors described in the prospectus relating to the company's recent public offering.
For more information, please contact MorphoSys AG:
Dave Lemus
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +49-(0)-89-899-27-439
Fax: +49-(0)-89-899-27-5439
investors@morphosys.com
Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Loser
Director Corporate Communications
Tel: +49-(0)-89-899-27-122
Fax: +49-(0)-89-899-27-5122
gutjahr-loeser@morphosys.com
Mario Brkulj
PR Specialist
Tel: +49-(0)-89-899-27-454
Fax: +49-(0)-89-899-27-5454
brkulj@morphosys.com
MorphoSys AG