MorphoSys AG announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent covering the company's most advanced proprietary compound MOR103. The new patent (US 7,867,495) covers MorphoSys's HuCAL antibody against GM-CSF as well as pharmaceutical compositions comprising the same, and has a scheduled expiry date in 2026, not including any potential extensions.
This newly issued patent complements a US patent granted in 2008 covering medical uses of antibodies against GM-CSF, to which MorphoSys has exclusive access under a license agreement with the University of Melbourne. Together, the two patent families provide strong intellectual property protection for the MOR103 programme.
“The protection of our intellectual property is a central part of MorphoSys's business model,” commented Dr Simon Moroney, chief executive officer of MorphoSys AG. “We will continue to strengthen still further our intellectual property position in antibody-based products and services, particularly in our most important markets Europe, the USA and Asia.”
Human GM-CSF (Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor), the target molecule of MorphoSys's lead program MOR103, is implicated in a number of inflammatory and other conditions including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody is currently being tested in a clinical phase I b/2a trial in RA patients. Additionally, MorphoSys plans to start a phase I b safety study of MOR103 in multiple sclerosis patients in 2011.
Currently, the Company is prosecuting more than 40 different proprietary patent families world-wide, in addition to those being pursued in cooperation with its partners.
MorphoSys is an independent biotechnology company that develops novel antibodies for therapeutic, diagnostic and research applications. Its HuCAL technology is one of the most powerful methods available for generating fully human antibodies. By successfully applying this and other proprietary technologies, MorphoSys has become a leader in the field of therapeutic antibodies, one of the fastest-growing drug classes in human health-care.