MARTINSRIED, Germany, Dec. 2, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt:MOR) (Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) today announced that its financial guidance for the full-year 2007 is presently under review due to the ongoing evaluation of all financial implications related to the newly signed collaboration agreement with Novartis. In conjunction with the successful execution of the Novartis agreement, MorphoSys expects to incur one-off advisory expenses of up to EUR6 million, which will be paid in 2007. Furthermore, in accordance with the new Novartis agreement, MorphoSys has decided not to extend its ongoing collaborations with Bayer-Schering and Centocor, which are due to expire in December 2007. The current active therapeutic antibody development programs with these two partners will nonetheless continue. The impact of the aforementioned and other related effects on revenues and expenses has not been considered in the financial guidance given to date for the year 2007.
MorphoSys will publish an update once the financial guidance review is concluded.
MorphoSys will hold a public conference call and live audio webcast on December 3, 2007 at 10:00 CET to provide detailed information on its new strategic alliance with Novartis.
Dial-in number for the Conference Call: +49 (0)69 9897 2623 (listen-only) UK residents: +44 (0)20 7138 0844 Confirmation code: 8460477
Please dial in 10 minutes before the beginning of the conference.
MorphoSys AG offers participants the opportunity to follow the presentation through a simultaneous slide presentation online at http://www.morphosys.com
An audio replay and manuscripts of the conference will be available following the live event on http://www.morphosys.com/conferencecalls
About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys is a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on the generation of fully human antibodies as a means to discover and develop innovative antibody-based drugs against life-threatening diseases. MorphoSys's goal is to establish HuCAL as the technology of choice for antibody generation in research, diagnostics and therapeutic applications. The Company currently has therapeutic and research alliances with the majority of the world largest pharmaceutical companies including Bayer-Schering, Boehringer Ingelheim, Centocor/Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche. Within these partnerships, more than 40 therapeutic antibody programs are ongoing in which MorphoSys participates through exclusive license and milestones payments as well as royalties on any end products. Additionally, MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market through its AbD Serotec business unit. The business unit has operations in Germany (Munich), the U.S. (Raleigh, NC) and U.K. (Oxford). For further information please visit http://www.morphosys.com/
HuCAL and HuCAL GOLD are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG 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.