Daiichi Sankyo and MorphoSys Expand Collaboration with two new
Cancer-Related Antibody Programs
MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment,
TecDAX) announced today the start of a further two oncology-focused
therapeutic antibody programs within its collaboration with DAIICHI
SANKYO COMPANY, LIMITED (TSE: 4568, hereinafter Daiichi Sankyo). By
exercising two options available under the parties' existing
agreement, Daiichi Sankyo has selected two new target molecules
against which MorphoSys will generate antibodies using its
proprietary HuCAL technology. Daiichi Sankyo will carry out
pre-clinical and clinical development and has worldwide marketing
rights for all resulting products. MorphoSys receives exclusive
license fees and stands to receive milestones and royalties for the
therapeutic antibody programs, as per the terms of the companies'
existing agreement. Further financial details were not disclosed.
"The addition of these new oncology programs promises to strengthen
still further our partnered antibody pipeline", commented Dr. Simon
Moroney, CEO of MorphoSys. "We look forward to working with Daiichi
Sankyo on the programs, and making progress towards our declared goal
of establishing a broad therapeutic pipeline of HuCAL-based antibody
drugs."
The two companies have been engaged in joint application of
MorphoSys's advanced phage display and human antibody library
technologies since March 2006. In March 2008, Daiichi Sankyo
exercised its option to extend the contracting period until March
2011. Today, the collaboration encompasses four active therapeutic
antibody programs. In May 2008, Daiichi Sankyo further strengthened
its pipeline of novel targeted therapeutics in oncology by acquiring
the German biotechnology company U3 Pharma AG. The cancer-related
target molecules, which build the basis for the HuCAL-based programs,
were part of U3 Pharma's portfolio.
For further information please contact: Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Löser,
Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Tel: +49 (0)
89 / 899 27-122, gutjahr-loeser@morphosys.com or Mario Brkulj, Senior
Manager Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Tel: +49 (0)
89 / 899 27-454, brkulj@morphosys.com. For further information on
Daiichi Sankyo please contact: Thorsten Schüller, Head of Media
Relations Europe, Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 78 08 657,
thorsten.schueller@daiichi-sankyo.eu
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's largest
pharmaceutical companies including Boehringer Ingelheim,
Centocor/Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche. Within these
partnerships, more than 50 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®, HuCAL GOLD®, HuCAL PLATINUM® and RapMAT® are registered
trademarks of MorphoSys AG
About DAIICHI SANKYO
DAIICHI SANKYO is a global pharmaceutical company that focuses on
researching and marketing innovative medications. The company was
created in 2005 through the merger of two traditional Japanese
enterprises, Daiichi and Sankyo. With net sales of nearly 5.9 billion
¤ in fiscal year 2008, DAIICHI SANKYO is one of the world's 20
leading pharmaceutical companies. The company's world headquarters is
in Tokyo, and its European base is located in Munich. DAIICHI SANKYO
has affiliates in 12 European countries and has been one of the
strongest Japanese pharmaceutical companies located in Europe since
it set up European production facilities and marketing offices in
1990. The company's research activities focus on the areas of
cardiovascular diseases, hematology, diabetes, anti-infectives and
cancer. Its aim is to develop medications that are "best" in their
class or to create new classes of pharmaceutical drugs. For more
information, please visit: www.daiichi-sankyo.eu.
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.
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
