MorphoSys AG announced that it has received a clinical milestone payment from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. in connection with the regulatory filing of a clinical trial application for a phase 1 clinical trial of a HuCAL-derived antibody in the therapeutic area of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Today's news marks the seventh clinical milestone for MorphoSys in 2010.

"The seventh clinical milestone with partners in 2010 surpasses our original expectations for the year of up to six such events," commented Dr Marlies Sproll, chief scientific officer of MorphoSys AG. "Today's news marks another milestone for the HuCAL platform, clearly illustrating the success of this technology."

MorphoSys's clinical pipeline now comprises nine partnered programmes in phase 1 and five in phase 2 development as well as the company's proprietary programmes MOR103, which is in a phase 1b/2a trial for rheumatoid arthritis, and MOR208, which is in a phase 1 trial for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

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.