MARTINSRIED, Germany, March 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt:MOR) (Prime Standard Segment:TecDAX) today announced that its business unit AbD Serotec has significantly expanded its license agreement with MRC Technology (MRCT), the technology transfer arm of Great Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC). The agreement, which provides AbD Serotec with access to a broad range of hybridoma cell lines as a source of research antibodies, is extended for a further five years, and includes additional products which will be implemented in AbD Serotec's offering. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Medical Research Council is a national organization dedicated to improving human health in the UK and abroad. The MRC has 40 Institutes, Units and Centres and supports research across the entire spectrum of medical sciences, in universities and hospitals through research grants, funded research training and MRC career awards. Hybridoma cells which have been engineered by researchers of the MRC network to produce a desired research antibody in large amounts are out-licensed by MRCT.
AbD Serotec is the research antibody division of MorphoSys, one of the world's leading antibody technology companies. AbD Serotec offers more than 10,000 antibodies and immunological reagents, custom monoclonal antibodies developed from the MorphoSys HuCAL library, and large and small scale antibody production and conjugation services.
"Our long-lasting relationship with the Medical Research Council as a source of research antibodies has led to a large number of innovative products for our costumers," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. "Sales on all products from this license agreement are of significant value for AbD Serotec, and to be able to continue this long-term relationship with one of the most influential research organizations in Great Britain is thus of significant value for the entire MorphoSys Group."
For further information please contact: Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Loser, Head of Corporate Communications, Tel: +49 (0) 89 /899 27-122, gutjahr-loeser@morphosys.com or Mario Brkulj, Manager, Public Relations, Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-454, brkulj@morphosys.com
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) technology is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company currently has licensing agreements and/or research collaborations with Bayer-Schering (USA/Germany), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (USA), Centocor Inc. (USA), Daiichi Sankyo & Co., Ltd. (Japan), GPC Biotech AG (Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (USA), Merck & Co., Inc. (USA), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Novoplant GmbH (Germany), OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (USA), Pfizer Inc. (USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Israel), Schering-Plough (USA), Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Japan), Xoma Ltd. (USA) and others. Additionally, MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market through its AbD Serotec business unit. The business unit 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 and Serotec Group in 2006. For further information please visit the corporate website at: http://www.morphosys.com/.
About Medical Research Council Technology (MRCT):
MRCT is the exclusive commercialisation catalyst for the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), working to translate cutting edge scientific discoveries into commercial products. MRCT bridges the gap between innovative basic science and making medicine. By providing both chemical tools and therapeutic antibody candidates, we give pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies new starting points for drug discovery and development, based on MRC advances in science.
About MRC:
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organisation funded by the UK tax-payer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work which has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC's expenditure of Pound 510 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools.
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.
HuCAL(r) and HuCAL GOLD(r)are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG