MARTINSRIED, GERMANY and MUNCHEN, GERMANY--(Marketwire - August 02, 2010) -
MorphoSys AG / MorphoSys Announces Clinical Milestone from Strategic Alliance Processed and transmitted by Hugin AS. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Third HuCAL Antibody to Enter Clinical Trials in 2010
MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today
that it
will receive a milestone payment from Novartis in connection with the
initiation
of a phase 1 clinical trial of a HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody
in the
therapeutic area of ophthalmology. Today's news marks the entry of the
third
HuCAL-derived antibody into human clinical trials in 2010, following
the
advancement of one program each from the alliances with Novartis and
Centocor
Ortho Biotech earlier this year.
"This promising new program is our first drug candidate in ophthalmology to enter the clinic, and underscores the range of indications we cover," commented Dr. Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "With three new clinical starts secured in 2010 we are on track to meet our expectations for the full year of up to six clinical milestones with various partners. Overall, the progress of HuCAL drug candidates into human clinical trials is accelerating."
MorphoSys projects that in 2010 between four and six partnered programs could enter clinical trials. With the recently announced in-licensing of an Fc-engineered antibody against CD19 from Xencor Inc., MorphoSys now expects up to 15 proprietary and partnered antibody programs to be in clinical trials by year-end, at least four of which should be in phase 2.
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 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.
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.
For more information, please contact:
MorphoSys AG
Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Löser
Head of Corporate Communications & IR
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-122
Mario Brkulj
Senior Manager Corporate Communications & IR
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-454
Jessica Kulpi
Specialist Corporate Communications & IR
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-332
investors@morphosys.com
[HUG#1435097]
Press Release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/130295/R/1435097/380598.pdf
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Source: MorphoSys AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
