MARTINSRIED / MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 17, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today it received clinical milestone payments from Janssen Biotech, Inc. ("Janssen") following the initiation of two clinical trials. One trial initiated in asthmatic patients is studying the HuCAL antibody CNTO 3157 and a second trial initiated in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis is studying the HuCAL antibody CNTO 6785. Further financial details were not disclosed. "The status of our partners' programs is of utmost importance to MorphoSys, as it is an important leading indicator of future earnings potential," commented Dr. Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "Our collaboration with Janssen has contributed significantly to our pipeline with clinical candidates in various inflammatory indications and we are delighted to see these two programs advance." In total, MorphoSys's clinical pipeline now comprises 21 clinical programs. Of these, 17 are programs that were initiated by partners, of which seven are in Phase 1, nine are in Phase 2 and one is in Phase 3 development. In addition, MOR202, which is being co-developed with Celgene, is in a phase 1/2a trial for multiple myeloma. MOR208, which has concluded a phase 1 trial for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is currently being evaluated in two phase 2 trials in B-ALL and NHL. MOR103, partnered with GSK, has concluded a phase 1b/2a trial in rheumatoid arthritis, and is currently being evaluated in a phase 1b trial in multiple sclerosis. About MorphoSys: MorphoSys developed HuCAL, the most successful antibody library technology in the pharmaceutical industry. By successfully applying this and other patented technologies, MorphoSys has become a leader in the field of therapeutic antibodies, one of the fastest-growing drug classes in human healthcare. Together with its pharmaceutical partners, MorphoSys has built a therapeutic pipeline of more than 80 human antibody drug candidates for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease, to name just a few. With its ongoing commitment to new antibody technology and drug development, MorphoSys is focused on making the healthcare products of tomorrow. MorphoSys is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol MOR. For regular updates about MorphoSys, visit http://www.morphosys.com HuCAL(®), HuCAL GOLD(®), HuCAL PLATINUM(®), CysDisplay(®), RapMAT(®), arYla(®) and Ylanthia(®) and 100 billion high potentials(®) are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG. Slonomics(®) is a registered trademark of Sloning BioTechnology GmbH, a subsidiary of MorphoSys AG. This communication contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the MorphoSys group of companies. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of MorphoSys as of the date of this release and involve risks and uncertainties. Should actual conditions differ from the Company's assumptions, actual results and actions may differ from those anticipated. MorphoSys does not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements as far as the wording of the relevant press release is concerned. For more information, please contact: MorphoSys AG Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Löser Head of Corporate Communications & IR Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-122 Mario Brkulj Senior Manager Corporate Communications & IR Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-454 Alexandra Goller Specialist Corporate Communications & IR Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-332 investors@morphosys.com Media Release (PDF): http://hugin.info/130295/R/1729529/577844.pdf [HUG#1729529]
