MARTINSRIED, Germany, June 21, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt:MOR) (Prime Standard Segment) announced today that an undisclosed partner has filed all necessary documentation to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial with a HuCAL-derived fully human antibody in the therapeutic area of oncology. This achievement marks the third fully human antibody developed with MorphoSys's core technology within its partnerships to enter human clinical trials and triggers a clinical milestone payment to MorphoSys.
"This is an exciting program for the treatment of cancer and we are therefore delighted to see the program move into human clinical trials," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. "This latest addition to the roster of HuCAL antibodies in the clinic underlines the fact that our therapeutic pipeline is growing and maturing. The strength of this pipeline is a core asset of MorphoSys that will be a key driver of the company's future growth."
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 Astellas (Japan), 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/
HuCAL(r) and HuCAL GOLD(r) are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG
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.