MARTINSRIED / MUNICH, Germany, Oct. 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX; OTC: MPSYY) announced today that it has received a milestone payment from Novartis in connection with the initiation of a phase 1 clinical trial with a novel HuCAL antibody. The antibody will be tested in the field of cancer. Financial details were not disclosed.
"This is the 13th therapeutic antibody based on MorphoSys's technologies that Novartis is evaluating in clinical trials, thus making our collaboration one of the most successful antibody alliances in our industry" commented Dr. Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "During the course of this year, the MorphoSys pipeline has further matured and currently includes more programs in clinical trials than ever before. This reflects the great value of both MorphoSys's technology and the resulting products, in our partnered as well as proprietary pipeline."
MorphoSys's clinical pipeline now comprises 28 clinical programs. Two of them are in phase 3, 15 in phase 2 and 11 in phase 1. Novartis has currently 13 HuCAL antibodies in clinical development, of which six are in phase 2 and seven in phase 1.
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 100 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®, Ylanthia®, 100 billion high potentials®, Slonomics®, Lanthio Pharma® and LanthioPep® are registered trademarks of the MorphoSys Group.
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
Jochen Orlowski
Associate Director Corporate Communications & IR
Alexandra Goller
Senior Manager Corporate Communications & IR
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-404
investors@morphosys.com
Media Release (PDF) http://hugin.info/130295/R/2049989/766701.pdf