MARTINSRIED / MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX, OTC: MPSYY) announced today that it has completed the expansion of its senior clinical development team by appointing Dr. Gabriele Elbl as Head of Regulatory Affairs, Dr. Ludger Langer as Head of Clinical Operations and Project Management and most recently Dr. Steffen Heeger as Head of Clinical Research.
Gabriele Elbl joined MorphoSys after working for more than 20 years in small and large pharmaceutical companies. During this time she gained a deep understanding of all regulatory aspects of product development, both for the US and the EU. Dr. Elbl has extensive experience of development programs for biologics through interactions with both the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Most recently she held the position of Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs at Wilex AG, Munich. Prior to that she worked as a Scientific Administrator at the EMA, London, and served as Head of Pharmaceutical Department at Sanofi Winthrop in Munich. Dr. Elbl studied pharmacy and received a PhD in Pharmaceutical Biology from the Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich.
Ludger Langer joined MorphoSys from PRA International. He brings almost 20 years of clinical operations and project management experience to MorphoSys. Dr. Langer held several positions of increasing seniority in Clinical Operations and Project Management with a focus on planning and execution of multiregional clinical trials. Prior to joining MorphoSys, Dr. Langer was Vice President, Clinical Operations, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa at PRA International. Dr. Langer studied pharmacy and received a PhD from the Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
Steffen Heeger is an oncologist with deep experience in oncology drug development from his past ten years at Merck Serono, where he was Head of Medical Affairs and where he led the Global Clinical Development Team for Erbitux®. Dr. Heeger studied Medicine in Freiburg, Heidelberg and Mannheim and continued his medical training at the Clinic of Hematology/Oncology of the University of Heidelberg. During this time he was also a scientist at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg where he worked on the development of antibody conjugates. He received a PhD in Medicine from the University of Heidelberg.
"We are very pleased to have gained three outstanding individuals for these key positions within the MorphoSys development organization," explained Dr. Arndt Schottelius, Chief Development Officer of MorphoSys AG. "The appointment of Gabriele Elbl and Ludger Langer earlier this year and most recently Steffen Heeger already had a significant impact on our development capabilities and underscores our strong commitment to the further expansion, development and commercialization of our proprietary drug portfolio."
About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys developed HuCAL, the most successful antibody library technology in the pharmaceutical industry. By successfully applying this and other patented technologies, MorphoSys has become a leader in the field of therapeutic antibodies, one of the fastest-growing drug classes in human healthcare.
Together with its pharmaceutical partners, MorphoSys has built a therapeutic pipeline of more than 80 human antibody drug candidates for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease, to name just a few. With its ongoing commitment to new antibody technology and drug development, MorphoSys is focused on making the healthcare products of tomorrow. MorphoSys is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol MOR. For regular updates about MorphoSys, visit http://www.morphosys.com
HuCAL®, HuCAL GOLD®, HuCAL PLATINUM®, CysDisplay®, RapMAT®, arYla® and Ylanthia® and 100 billion high potentials® are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG.
Slonomics® is a registered trademark of Sloning BioTechnology GmbH, a subsidiary 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.
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
Associate Director Corporate Communications & IR
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-454
Alexandra Goller
Specialist Corporate Communications & IR
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-332
Media Release http://hugin.info/130295/R/1750808/590074.pdf
HUG#1750808