MorphoSys AG announced that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has granted a new patent, which provides an extended protection of the MorphoSys core technology HuCAL (Human Combinatorial Antibody Library). The new patent (US 6,706,484) covers the method of obtaining an antigen specific antibody or an antibody fragment from the HuCAL library.

MorphoSys' antibody library is based on a proprietary phage display technology. This approach exploits the biological characteristic of bacteriophages - viruses that infect bacteria while being completely harmless for humans. Bacteriophages or derivatives thereof used in MorphoSys phage display libraries contain the genetic information for antibody fragments and display these fragments on their surface. Antibodies displayed in this way maintain their natural binding characteristics and structure, and can recognise a corresponding antigen. This proprietary selection process is covered by the newly obtained patent.

A first HuCAL patent, which is now complemented by the new patent, was issued by the U.S. Patent Office in 2001. In February 2004, MorphoSys obtained an additional U.S. patent covering the genetic constitution of synthetic, fully modular human antibody libraries based on in silico consensus sequences. HuCAL patents have been granted in the United States, in Australia and at the European Patent Office. Furthermore MorphoSys has received several notifications of allowance for further patent applications in the U.S. To date, MorphoSys has eleven granted patents and more than 40 applications pending worldwide.

"This new patent further extends the protection of our proprietary core technology HuCAL in the United States. We will carry on with this process and strengthen our IP position on this important market for antibody-based products and services," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, chief executive officer of MorphoSys AG.