MorphoSys AG, a German biotechnology company, has announced that its partner Novartis will conduct a phase 2 clinical trial of the HuCAL antibody bimagrumab in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.

According to information published on clinicaltrials.gov, the randomized, subject- and investigator-blinded study will enroll 60 obese adult patients with type 2 diabetes to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of intravenous bimagrumab compared to placebo. The study is not yet open for enrollment.

The study's primary outcome measures comprise the change in fat body mass at weeks 24 and 48. Secondary outcome measures include mean change from baseline in HbA1c, insulin resistance as measured by the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR), fasting insulin and glucose.

"We are very excited that our partner Novartis is taking bimagrumab into a phase 2 study in type 2 diabetes, an indication with growing demand for novel treatments. This new study will join phase 2 clinical trials of bimagrumab currently ongoing in patients with sarcopenia and after hip fracture surgery", commented Dr. Marlies Sproll, chief scientific officer of MorphoSys AG.

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. With its ongoing commitment to new antibody technology and drug development, MorphoSys is focused on making the healthcare products of tomorrow. MorphoSys is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol MOR.