MARTINSRIED, Germany, Nov. 13, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt:MOR) (Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today that its partner Boehringer Ingelheim has exercised an option for optimizing a therapeutic HuCAL antibody and has acquired an exclusive license for this project. The antibody identified by Boehringer Ingelheim at its research site in Vienna is directed against a cancer disease-related target molecule. MorphoSys will optimize the antibody in accordance with the requirements of the partner and will receive additional research payments. Further financial details were not disclosed.
The collaboration originally signed in 2003, consisted of two therapeutic antibody projects against inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. In February 2005, the companies expanded their cooperation. Under the framework of the present five-year agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim has the option to receive several exclusive licenses on new therapeutic antibody programs. In addition, Boehringer Ingelheim has access to the MorphoSys HuCAL GOLD antibody library for research purposes at research sites of the pharmaceutical company. MorphoSys receives exclusive license payments, performance-related milestone payments and royalties for all therapeutic antibodies arising from the cooperation.
"Today's announcement speaks to one of the central advantages of our HuCAL technology -- the ability to optimize an antibody to precise specifications," comments Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. "We look forward to a successful continuation of this alliance, which with immediate effect includes three areas of disease -- the development of new therapies against cancer, inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases."
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 (HuCALa) technology is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company currently has licensing agreements and/or research collaborations with Bayer (USA), 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 AG (Germany), Schering-Plough (USA), Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Japan), Xoma Ltd. (USA) and others. Additionally, MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market through its Antibodies by Design business unit. Antibodies by Design 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. From 2006 onwards, the segment will be named AbD Serotec. For further information please visit the corporate website at: http://www.morphosys.com/.
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.
HuCAL(r) and HuCAL GOLD(r) are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG