MorphoSys AG — Regulatory Filings 2004

Jan 28, 2004

News Details

Corporate | 28 January 2004 07:45

GPC Biotech Extends License for MorphoSys HuCAL Antibodies against Cancer Target

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– GPC Biotech Extends License for MorphoSys HuCAL Antibodies against Cancer Target MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt: MOR; Prime Standard Segment) announced today that GPC Biotech AG has extended its exclusive license for HuCAL antibodies directed against an MHC class II target molecule. The payment to MorphoSys was not disclosed. The aim of the collaboration between GPC Biotech and MorphoSys, which began in 1999, is to develop a new generation of therapeutically active substances for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and certain forms of cancer. The most advanced project is aimed at the selective recognition and destruction of activated, reproducing MHC class II positive tumor cells – including those in B- cell and T-cell lymphomas. In the context of the partnership between MorphoSys and GPC Biotech, the fully human antibody against the GPC Biotech target molecule was selected and optimized by MorphoSys using its HuCAL technology. GPC Biotech reported promising pre-clinical anti-tumor data around the antibody, called 1D09C3, in 2003. GPC Biotech has reported that, with successful ongoing efforts, the Company expects to enter 1D09C3 into human clinical trials in the second half of 2004. “Today’s announcement demonstrates that our HuCAL antibody continues to occupy an important position in GPC Biotech’s strong oncology pipeline”, commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. “This antibody could be the first HuCAL antibody to enter clinical trials.” MorphoSys in brief: MorphoSys develops and applies technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies, which accelerate drug discovery and disease-related target molecules. The Company was founded in 1992 and has a wide range of innovative technologies, above all HuCAL, the Human Combinatorial Antibody Library, which is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company has collaborations with international pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer (Berkeley, California/USA), Biogen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Wilmington, Delaware/USA), Centocor Inc. (Malvern, Pennsylvania/USA), GPC Biotech AG (Martinsried/Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel/Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Oridis Biomed GmbH (Graz/Austria), Pfizer Inc. (Delaware/USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Rehovot/Israel), Schering AG (Berlin/Germany) and Xoma Ltd. (Berkeley, California/USA). Further information can be found on the Company’s website: 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, Manager Corporate Communications, Tel. +49 (0)89 89927 122, gutjahr@morphosys.com end of message, (c)DGAP 28.01.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 663200; ISIN: DE0006632003; Index: Nemax 50 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 280745 Jän 04