MorphoSys AG and the University of Melbourne announced an agreement to cooperate on investigating new therapeutic applications for MorphoSys's MOR103 programme. MOR103, a HuCAL antibody against human GM-CSF (Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor), is currently in development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The collaboration announced today will focus on new therapeutic areas in which GM-CSF has recently been implicated in as-yet unpublished work of researchers at the University of Melbourne. As part of the expanded relationship, new patent applications have been filed, which are intended to broaden the patent position of the anti-GM-CSF approach.

Under the terms of the agreement, MorphoSys will fund research activities at the University of Melbourne in multiple new indications. The University of Melbourne will receive an upfront payment and will be entitled to research funding, clinical milestone and royalty payments. Further financial details were not disclosed.

"The University of Melbourne, and in particular the research group of Professor John Hamilton, has long been at the cutting edge of research on GM-CSF. We are excited to be able to deepen our relationship with MorphoSys and help speed the transition of these laboratory insights into clinical applications for the benefit of patients," said Dr Charlie Day, CEO of Melbourne Ventures, the technology commercialization company for the University of Melbourne.

"Researchers at the University of Melbourne have now generated evidence for the involvement of GM-CSF in indications beyond those that were already known," commented Dr Arndt Schottelius, chief development officer of MorphoSys AG. "We look forward to working closely with them to explore the potential of targeting GM-CSF in these additional indications, and expand still further the patent position around inhibitors of GM-CSF. Meanwhile, development of our anti-GM-CSF antibody MOR103 in RA continues according to plan."

In 2007, MorphoSys signed an agreement with the University of Melbourne, providing the company with an exclusive license to a patent family covering therapeutic uses of inhibitors of GM-CSF. The claims of the patent are directed to methods of ameliorating the effects of inflammation by administering to a patient an antibody directed against GM-CSF. In November 2008, the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued the patent US Patent No. 7,455,836, covering key uses of antibodies against GM-CSF. Human GM-CSF is already implicated in a number of medical conditions.

MorphoSys is a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on the generation of fully human antibodies as a means to discover and develop innovative antibody-based drugs against life-threatening diseases.

Melbourne Ventures Pty Ltd is the technology commercialisation company of the University of Melbourne, one of the top 40 Universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2008).