MorphoSys AG announced today that three of its partners have filed applications for phase 1 clinical trials with HuCAL antibodies. In each case, the filing of the application triggers an undisclosed milestone payment to MorphoSys. The therapeutic antibodies are being developed in the therapeutic areas of cancer and inflammatory diseases. Today's announcement brings to six the number of HuCAL antibodies that have entered clinical development in 2010. Details on the individual programs will be published as the respective trials commence.
"This has been an outstanding year for progress in our pipeline," commented Dr Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "The number of partnered HuCAL antibody programs in the clinic has almost doubled - from seven at the end of last year to 13 now. With the three new starts announced today, seven different partners from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry are currently running clinical trials with our antibodies. Milestone payments from these programs are an important source of revenue for MorphoSys. Even more importantly, we are building substantial long-term value for the company as programs advance into and through clinical development."
With today's news, a total of six HuCAL-derived antibodies have advanced into human clinical trials in 2010: the three announced today together with two programs from the alliance with Novartis and one from Centocor Ortho Biotech. As a result, MorphoSys's clinical pipeline currently comprises eight partnered programs in Phase 1 and five in Phase 2 development as well as the Company's proprietary programs MOR103, which is in a Phase 1b/2a trial for rheumatoid arthritis, and MOR208, which is in a Phase 1 trial for cancer.
MorphoSys
