MorphoSys AG — Regulatory Filings 2003

Jul 31, 2003

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Corporate | 31 July 2003 07:52

MorphoSys AG english

MorphoSys Achieves Third Milestone in Centocor Collaboration Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– MorphoSys Achieves Third Milestone in Centocor Collaboration MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment), the Munich-based biotechnology company, today announced the achievement of the third milestone in its therapeutic antibody collaboration with Centocor. The milestone is based on the delivery by MorphoSys of antibodies against an undisclosed Centocor target involved in inflammatory diseases. In achieving the current milestone, MorphoSys delivered several precisely engineered antibodies against the target molecule from Centocor, fulfilling eight different pre-agreed success criteria. Financial terms relating to the milestone payment to MorphoSys were not disclosed. In December 2000, MorphoSys and Centocor, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, entered collaboration for the development of fully human antibodies in a wide range of therapeutic indications. The collaboration includes an option for Centocor on the development of antibodies against up to 30 different target molecules. In March 2002 Centocor ordered AutoCAL, the MorphoSys-developed system for automated screening of antibodies. In achieving the current milestone, MorphoSys applied its proprietary HuCAL GOLD technology to generate several antibodies against the Centocor target. The unique features of HuCAL were applied to engineer the antibodies to meet eight pre-agreed success criteria. Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG, said: “Our successful achievement of this milestone is an additional step in executing our strategy of building a broad therapeutic antibody pipeline within partnerships with leading players in the field. We are delighted to be able to add another promising product candidate to our growing pipeline.” 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), Biogen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Wilmington, Delaware/USA), Centocor Inc. (Malvern, Pennsylvania/USA), California/USA), GPC Biotech AG (Munich/Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel/Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Oridis Biomed GmbH (Graz/Austria), 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/ . For more information, please contact MorphoSys: Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Löser, Manager Corporate Communications, Tel. +49 (0)89 89927 122, gutjahr@morphosys.com end of message, (c)DGAP 31.07.2003 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 663200; ISIN: DE0006632003; Index: Nemax 50 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 310752 Jul 03