MorphoSys AG announced that the company earned a milestone payment with Bayer's initiation of a global phase 2 clinical study designed to support registration of anetumab ravtansine (BAY 94-9343). Anetumab ravtansine, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting mesothelin, is a potential new treatment for mesothelioma developed by Bayer using MorphoSys's HuCAL technology. Further financial details were not disclosed.

"We are delighted to see our partner Bayer moving anetumab ravtansine into a clinical study designed to support its registration in mesothelioma, an indication with high medical need", commented Dr. Marlies Sproll, chief scientific officer of MorphoSys AG.

"This is the fourth antibody derived from the MorphoSys technology platform to advance into decisive stages of clinical development. This again reflects the increasing maturity and value of the MorphoSys pipeline comprising both proprietary and partnered programs."

MorphoSys's collaboration with Bayer has resulted in two clinical programs to date. In total, MorphoSys's partnered and proprietary clinical pipeline currently comprises 25 unique antibody molecules which are currently being evaluated in more than 50 clinical trials.

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 100 human antibody drug candidates for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease, to name just a few.