MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment; TecDAX) today announced that yesterday, the agreement with Centocor Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, was extended until the end of 2007. The objective of the cooperation between MorphoSys and Centocor is the development of fully human therapeutic antibodies in a broad range of indications. The cooperation agreement, originally signed in December 2000, was to end in December 2005. Within the framework of the extended agreement, the two parties undertake to commence at least two new antibody development programs in 2005. Furthermore, the agreement also provides for increased levels of research and development funding by Centocor to MorphoSys, and an upfront payment by Centocor to MorphoSys for the extension. Further financial details were not disclosed.
MorphoSys AG
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82152 Martinsried/München
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Issuer's information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad hoc announcement:
Under the extended agreement, Centocor has the option to elect up to 30 disease-related target molecules, against which the two parties will develop fully human, optimized antibodies using the HuCAL GOLD(R) technology of MorphoSys. MorphoSys stands to receive licensing and milestone payments, in addition to royalties on any marketed antibody products arising from the collaboration. Furthermore, Centocor maintains access to HuCAL GOLD(R) to isolate antibodies for research use. In the collaboration with Centocor, MorphoSys has achieved four performance-related milestones to date. In March 2004, both companies launched a new antibody program to develop a therapeutic antibody against a Centocor target molecule involved in autoimmune diseases.
'We are delighted to be able to extend our collaboration with Centocor, one of the world's leading companies in the therapeutic antibody field,' explained Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. 'The early extension emphasizes the central importance of our technology as it relates to Centocor's antibody efforts going forward.'
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 (HuCALâ) technology is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company currently has licensing and research collaborations with Bayer (Berkeley, California/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Wilmington, Delaware/USA), Centocor Inc. (Malvern, Pennsylvania/USA), GPC Biotech AG (Munich/Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel/Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Novartis AG (Basel, Switzerland), Novoplant GmbH (Gatersleben/Germany), Pfizer Inc. (Delaware/USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Rehovot/Israel), Schering AG (Berlin/Germany) and Xoma Ltd. (Berkeley, California/USA). 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 and other factors described in the prospectus relating to the company's recent public offering.
For more information, please contact MorphoSys: Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Löser, Director Corporate Communications, Tel. +49 (0)89 89927 122, gutjahr@morphosys.com / Mario Brkulj, PR Specialist, Tel. +49 (0)89 89927 454, brkulj@morphosys.com