MorphoSys AG — M&A Activity 2004

Dec 20, 2004

News Details

Corporate | 20 December 2004 07:45

MorphoSys Announces Extension of Strategic Partnership with Schering AG

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. —————————————————————————— MorphoSys Announces Extension of Strategic Partnership with Schering AG MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) today announces the extension of its collaboration with Schering AG, Berlin, to develop innovative antibody therapeutics and in vivo diagnostics. The collaboration, originally signed in December 2001, is extended by at least two more years, until the end of 2006, with the option of a further extension period of one year beyond this time frame. In return for granting Schering access to the HuCAL GOLD(R) technology, MorphoSys receives annual license fees under the revised contract, funding for a team of scientists working at MorphoSys on Schering’s behalf, license fees in respect of active therapeutic and diagnostic antibody projects, and stands to receive milestones and royalties on products developed and brought to market. As part of the collaboration, Schering also receives exclusive commercial licenses for several therapeutic antibody programs, relating to work on which both partners have been collaborating over the past three years. The two partners have, to date, identified three therapeutic antibody candidates that are being processed. Another program covers the use of an antibody in the field of in vivo diagnostics. The magnitude of the related financial payments to MorphoSys was not disclosed. As part of their collaboration, Schering acquired in December 2001 a total of 357,880 MorphoSys shares, representing 6.6% of the present outstanding shares. The original objective of the collaboration was to develop therapeutic antibodies and in vivo diagnostics, particularly in the field of oncology – one of Schering’s core business areas. The two companies will continue to collaborate on a variety of different molecules mainly in oncological indications. “We believe that HuCAL(R) is one of the most powerful technologies available for the generation of human antibodies”, commented Dr. Andreas Menrad, Head of Anti-Angiogenesis Research, CRBA Oncology of Schering AG. “Based on the achieved successes to date, we are very pleased to extend the collaboration with MorphoSys.” “The collaboration with Schering is one of our most successful, from which we expect a number of innovative, antibody-based products”, commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. “We look forward to continuing to work together with Schering to further expand the pipeline of HuCAL GOLD(R)-derived drugs in development.” 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 end of message, (c)DGAP 20.12.2004 —————————————————————————— WKN: 663200; ISIN: DE0006632003; Index: TecDAX Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 200745 Dez 04