MorphoSys AG, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies focusing on fully human antibodies, has received a milestone payment from Novartis in connection with the clinical trial application (CTA/IND) and projected initiation of a phase I clinical trial. The HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody will be developed in the therapeutic area of inflammatory diseases.

"Today's news marks the first clinical milestone from our collaborations with pharma and biotech companies that we expect to see during the course of the year," commented Dr Marlies Sproll, chief scientific officer of MorphoSys AG. "In total, our collaboration with Novartis has resulted in eight clinical antibodies to date, three currently being in phase I development, four in phase II and one in a pivotal trial."

MorphoSys's partnered and proprietary clinical pipeline currently comprises 20 unique antibody molecules, which are being evaluated in more than 40 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.