MorphoSys, Daiichi Sankyo form alliance to develop antibody therapies

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, March 16 - MorphoSys AG announced Thursday it has entered into a license agreement and therapeutic antibody collaboration with Sankyo Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., for an initial two-year term with the option of an extension of up to three more years.

Under the agreement, Daiichi Sankyo commits to start one therapeutic antibody program with MorphoSys and receives an option for further programs, according to a company news release.

During the initial two-year term, Daiichi Sankyo said it will have access to the MorphoSys HuCAL GOLD library at its research site in Tokyo.

Additionally, MorphoSys said it will apply its proprietary HuCAL GOLD technology to generate antibodies against a target provided by Daiichi Sankyo.

Subsequently, Daiichi Sankyo said it will be responsible for preclinical and clinical development, as well as the ensuing marketing of resulting products.

MorphoSys said it stands to receive an upfront payment and research funding, plus licensing and milestone payments, as well as royalties on end-product sales.

If extended after the initial two-year period, the contract provides Daiichi Sankyo with access to additional MorphoSys capabilities, such as target validation, antibody optimization and preclinical development, officials said.

Such an extension would trigger an additional upfront payment and result in increased research funding for MorphoSys, officials said. Further financial details were not disclosed.

HuCAL GOLD is the latest and most powerful antibody library developed by MorphoSys. The technology uses a unique concept for the in vitro generation of highly specific and fully human antibodies. Officials said it is ideally suited for a broad range of purposes reaching from target validation to drug development.

Daiichi Sankyo is the joint holding company of two major Japanese pharmaceutical companies, Sankyo Co., Ltd., and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Both companies have used their cumulative knowledge and expertise in the field of cardiovascular disease as a foundation for developing an abundant product lineup and research and development pipeline. MorphoSys, based in Munich, Germany, develops and applies innovative technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies, which accelerate drug discovery and target characterization. The company also is active in the antibody research market through its Antibodies by Design business unit.

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