Corporate | 19 April 2004 07:44

MorphoSys Widens Scope of U.S. Patent for HuCAL(R) Technology

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– MorphoSys Widens Scope of U.S. Patent for HuCAL(R) Technology MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment) announced today that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has granted a new patent, which provides an extended protection of the MorphoSys core technology HuCAL(R) (Human Combinatorial Antibody Library). The new patent (US 6,706,484) covers the method of obtaining an antigen specific antibody or an antibody fragment from the HuCAL(R) library. MorphoSys’ antibody library is based on a proprietary phage display technology. This approach exploits the biological characteristic of bacteriophages – viruses that infect bacteria while being completely harmless for humans. Bacteriophages or derivatives thereof used in MorphoSys phage display libraries contain the genetic information for antibody fragments and display these fragments on their surface. Antibodies displayed in this way maintain their natural binding characteristics and structure, and can recognise a corresponding antigen. This proprietary selection process is covered by the newly obtained patent. A first HuCAL(R) patent, which is now complemented by the new patent, was issued by the U.S. Patent Office in 2001. In February 2004, MorphoSys obtained an additional U.S. patent covering the genetic constitution of synthetic, fully modular human antibody libraries based on in silico consensus sequences. HuCAL(R) patents have been granted in the United States, in Australia and at the European Patent Office. Furthermore MorphoSys has received several notifications of allowance for further patent applications in the U.S. To date, MorphoSys has eleven granted patents and more than 40 applications pending worldwide. “This new patent further extends the protection of our proprietary core technology HuCAL(R) in the United States. We will carry on with this process and strengthen our IP position on this important market for antibody-based products and services,” commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. 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 Idec Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/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), Oridis Biomed GmbH (Graz/Austria), 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, Manager 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 19.04.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 663200; ISIN: DE0006632003; Index: Nemax 50 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 190744 Apr 04