MorphoSys is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies
focusing on fully human antibodies. With its proprietary technologies,
MorphoSys is developing not only the next generation of therapeutic
antibodies, but also antibodies for research and diagnostics purposes.
MorphoSys is committed to create significant value for its employees,
shareholders, customers and partners through a sustainable business
strategy balancing short-term and long-term growth potentials.
Presently, MorphoSys prosecutes its business in three operating segments:
Proprietary Development and Partnered Discovery
In the Proprietary Development and Partnered Discovery segments, MorphoSys develops drug candidates for commercial partners as well as for its own proprietary product portfolio. In this regard, the Company has been successful in establishing a number of partnerships with renowned biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. MorphoSys has also generated several proprietary therapeutic antibody candidates for future out-licensing to partners.
AbD Serotec
MorphoSys’s third operating segment, AbD Serotec, delivers antibodies to the research and diagnostics markets. The unit’s growing penetration of the diagnostics market positions the Company to benefit from the burgeoning importance of diagnostics for drug development and use.
Synergies
The synergies inherent in MorphoSys’s business model are based on
the opportunity to convert AbD Serotec customers whose first exposure
to the Company’s core technology through the research antibody business
will encourage them to bring higher value-added projects, such as
diagnostics, to MorphoSys. In the past, this approach has been
demonstrated twice as it relates to therapeutics with the Japanese
pharmaceutical company Astellas in 2007 and US-based pharmaceutical
giant Merck, Inc., in 2006. Both companies based their decision to
initiate a therapeutic partnership with MorphoSys on their positive
research antibody experience with HuCAL and AbD Serotec.
Going forward, MorphoSys’s primary objective is to use this synergy to
gain access to currently investigated or yet undiscovered therapeutic
approaches and innovative therapeutic molecules, thereby increasing the
opportunities to expand the internal pipeline through co-development
partnerships, for instance.
MorphoSys is advancing comprehensive use of the technology within
the research community, for example with the well-regarded US-based Burnham Institute
as well as several Japanese research institutions in order to leverage
the technology to identify new potential therapeutic targets. The
Burnham Institute has access to new research antibodies developed by
AbD Serotec for identifying and further defining novel target molecules
with therapeutic potential. In return, MorphoSys receives all
commercial rights for resulting antibodies. These antibodies can become
part of the AbD Serotec product range as well as being used for
therapeutic or diagnostic applications. MorphoSys intends to continue
to promote this network among of HuCAL users at medically focused
research institutions.
The AbD segment acts as a feeder for new diagnostic and therapeutic
commercial applications, providing MorphoSys with access to new markets
for the Company’s technologies.
