MARTINSRIED, Germany, Aug. 8, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt:MOR) (Prime Standard Segment:TecDAX) announced today the successful conclusion of a first therapeutic antibody program with Novartis. MorphoSys generated numerous fully human antibodies fulfilling previously defined success criteria against a cancer disease-related target molecule from Novartis, and thus achieved the first performance-related milestone in the cooperation. The amount of the associated milestone payment made to MorphoSys was not disclosed. The project work commenced in September 2004 and was completed within 11 months.
In May 2004, MorphoSys and Novartis forged a strategic antibody alliance to jointly develop new antibody-based therapeutic substances against a range of illnesses for which the current treatment is inadequate. As part of the cooperation, Novartis decided to acquire an equity stake in MorphoSys worth around EUR 9 million.
"We are very pleased about the rapid progress of the cooperation with Novartis and look forward to further successful development in the future," stated Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG.
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 agreements and/or research collaborations with Bayer (Berkeley, California/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (New Jersey/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), Pfizer Inc. (Delaware/USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Rehovot/Israel), Schering AG (Berlin/Germany) and Xoma Ltd. (Berkeley, California/USA). Additionally, 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. MorphoSys' activities in the research antibody segment were significantly strengthened through the acquisition of the U.K. and U.S.-based Biogenesis Group in January 2005. 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 harbour 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.