Ad-hoc | 29 July 1999 07:40
Ad hoc-Service: MorphoSys AG
Board_E
Ad-hoc Mitteilung übermittelt durch die DGAP.
Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist allein der Emittent verantwortlich.
——————————————————————————
Press Release
Munich, Germany, 29 July 1999
MORPHOSYS ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND
APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN
MorphoSys AG (Neuer Markt: MOR), the Munich-based
combinatorial biology company, announced the appointment of
Dr Gerald Moeller as Non-Executive Chairman of its Board. Dr
Geoffrey Vernon, formerly an investment manager at the
Rothschilds Bioscience Unit and currently Managing Director,
Ziggus Holding Ltd., and Robert Schneider, Executive
Chairman of SCM Microsystems Inc., have been appointed as
Non-Executive Directors. The appointments take effect
immediately.
In accordance with their respective contracts, Dr. Goeran
Ando will retire as Chairman and Alex Korda will step down
from his position as Non-Executive Director, with immediate
effect.
Dr Moeller’s career includes 24 years at Boehringer Mannheim
GmbH where he held a number of senior management positions,
including 3 years as Chief Executive Officer of the
worldwide operation Boehringer Mannheim Group. Following the
acquisition of Boehringer Mannheim by Roche, he became a
member of the Roche Group’s Central Management headquartered
in Basle. Currently Dr Moeller heads the department of
Intelligent Health Care at ESG Limited. He holds a PhD in
Chemistry.
“I am very much looking forward to being involved with one
of Europe’s leading biotechnology companies”, commented Dr
Moeller. “MorphoSys has established a powerful portfolio of
drug and target discovery technologies, and I expect to be
able to help the company further commercialise its
capabilities.”
Dr Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys
thanked the departing board members. “I am very grateful for
the invaluable input from Alex Korda and Goeran Ando. Alex
Korda has supported the company since its early days and his
enthusiasm has greatly contributed to the success of
MorphoSys. Now that the company is no longer a fledgling he
will move on to concentrate on other business ventures.” He
continued, “Dr Ando fulfilled his promise to the company of
guiding it through a successful IPO, and leaves to spend
more time on alternative pursuits. He was delighted to
appoint such an experienced successor in Gerald Moeller.”
MorphoSys develops and applies innovative technologies for
the production of synthetic antibodies which accelerate drug
discovery and target characterisation. Founded in 1992, the
Company’s proprietary Human Combinatorial Antibody Library
(HuCAL) technology is used by researchers world-wide for
human antibody generation. The Company has partnered with
pharmaceutical companies such as Pharmacia & Upjohn and
Boehringer Mannheim, and currently has licensing and
research collaborations with DuPont Pharmaceuticals
(Wilmington, Delaware), LeukoSite (Cambridge, Mass), and
Chiron Corporation (Emeryville, California). This year the
Company signed a further co-operation with GPC AG
(Martinsried/ Munich). In March 1999, MorphoSys AG became
the first biopharmaceutical company to list on Germany’s
Neuer Markt.
For more information, please contact:
Simon Moroney
Chief Executive Officer
MorphoSys AG
Tel: +49 (0) 89 899 27 0
Fax: +49 (0) 89 899 27 222
Ende der Mitteilung