MARTINSRIED / MUNICH, Germany, Oct. 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX, OTC: MPSYY) announced today that it has received a milestone payment from Bayer HealthCare in connection with the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of a HuCAL antibody in the field of bleeding disorders. The antibody targets the tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), a major inhibitor of tissue factor-initiated blood clotting.
"We are very pleased to see another exciting partnered program advancing into clinical development in an area of unmet medical need. The breadth of our pipeline with now 25 therapeutic antibodies in clinical development is a key strength of MorphoSys," commented Dr. Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "Today's news represents the third clinical milestone with our different partners during the course of the year."
Hemophilia A, also known as factor VIII deficiency or classic hemophilia, is an inherited bleeding disorder in which one of the proteins needed to form blood clots is missing or reduced. Hemophilia A is the most common type of hemophilia and affects approximately 400,000 people around the world.
Hemophilia is characterized by prolonged or spontaneous bleeding, especially into the joints, muscles or internal organs. People with the severe form of the disease (less than 1 percent normal levels) experience recurrent spontaneous or trauma-related bleeding episodes, which places them at risk of disabling hemophilic arthropathy and life-threatening hemorrhages.
MorphoSys's collaboration with Bayer HealthCare has resulted in two clinical programs to date. In total, MorphoSys's partnered and proprietary clinical pipeline currently comprises 25 unique antibody molecules which are being evaluated in more than 50 clinical trials.
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®, Ylanthia®, 100 billion high potentials®, arYla®, CysDisplay®, RapMAT®, LanthioPep®, Lanthio Pharma® and Slonomics® 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
Alexandra Goller
Manager Corporate Communications & IR
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-404
investors@morphosys.com
Media Release (PDF) http://hugin.info/130295/R/1962503/715818.pdf
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