MorphoSys AG and Galapagos NV announce that they have expanded their antibody alliance in bone and joint diseases. Based on the solid progress made so far, the partners have agreed to add another antibody target to the alliance, thereby increasing the total number of programmes to four.

The alliance aims to discover and develop antibody therapeutics based on novel modes of action in bone and joint diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. As part of the initial agreement, three targets were selected for the collaboration. Antibodies with high specificity towards the first target have been generated and are now being tested in disease-specific in vitro and in vivo experiments. In parallel, Galapagos has applied its target discovery platform to identify additional targets for antibody development. Based on this, Galapagos and MorphoSys have now added a fourth antibody target to the alliance. The partners have prioritized the targets in order to maximize the value and IP position of the respective therapeutic antibody programmes.

"This collaboration provides Galapagos with a platform to develop antibody drugs for our proprietary targets," said Onno van de Stolpe, chief executive officer of Galapagos. "This, together with more than 40 R&D small molecule programs, solidifies our leading position in discovering innovative approaches to address diseases with unmet medical need."

"The expansion of our proprietary pipeline is a key value driver for our company. In 2010, we plan to add up to four new proprietary programs including both fully owned and co-development opportunities such as with Galapagos," commented Dr Marlies Sproll, chief scientific officer of MorphoSys. "Our alliance with Galapagos gives us access to novel disease-related target molecules which could build the basis for first-in-class antibody therapies in the future."

MorphoSys is an independent biotechnology company that develops novel antibodies for therapeutic, diagnostic and research applications. The company's HuCAL technology is one of the most powerful methods available for generating fully human antibodies.

Galapagos is a mid-size biotechnology company specialized in the discovery and development of small molecule and antibody therapies with novel modes-of-action. The company is progressing one of the largest pipelines in biotech, with four clinical and over 40 discovery/pre-clinical programmes.