MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. announced today that they have signed a three year license agreement on the use of MorphoSys’s HuCAL® technology. Under the terms of the agreement, MorphoSys grants Shionogi access to its HuCAL GOLD® antibody library for use in Shionogi’s pharmaceutical drug discovery programs. In return, MorphoSys stands to receive an up-front payment and annual user fees during the life span of the agreement. Further financial details were not disclosed.
During the three-year term of the agreement, Shionogi will have access to the MorphoSys HuCAL GOLD® library at one of its research sites. HuCAL GOLD® is the latest and most powerful antibody library developed by MorphoSys. The technology utilizes a unique and innovative concept for the in vitro generation of highly specific and fully human antibodies. It is ideally suited for a broad range of purposes reaching from target validation to drug development. In line with a business structure re-engineering plan initiated in 2000, Shionogi has reinforced research and development and marketing in its core ethical drug business. In 2004, Shionogi generated net sales of around US$2 billion.
“The contract signed today is a significant milestone in MorphoSys’s effort to expand geographically into the Japanese market and is a direct outcome of the marketing cooperation signed with GeneFrontier Corporation last year”, commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys. “This announcement marks another successful step in our strategy of enabling partners to utilize our proprietary technology in their R&D programs.”
During the three-year term of the agreement, Shionogi will have access to the MorphoSys HuCAL GOLD® library at one of its research sites. HuCAL GOLD® is the latest and most powerful antibody library developed by MorphoSys. The technology utilizes a unique and innovative concept for the in vitro generation of highly specific and fully human antibodies. It is ideally suited for a broad range of purposes reaching from target validation to drug development. In line with a business structure re-engineering plan initiated in 2000, Shionogi has reinforced research and development and marketing in its core ethical drug business. In 2004, Shionogi generated net sales of around US$2 billion.
“The contract signed today is a significant milestone in MorphoSys’s effort to expand geographically into the Japanese market and is a direct outcome of the marketing cooperation signed with GeneFrontier Corporation last year”, commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys. “This announcement marks another successful step in our strategy of enabling partners to utilize our proprietary technology in their R&D programs.”