Martinsried/Munich, Germany, October 8, 2004
MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt: MOR; Prime Standard Segment) announced today that promising initial in vitro and in vivo data for the internal cancer antibody program, MOR202, were presented at the “Human Antibodies & Hybridomas” conference held in Dublin yesterday. The fully-human antibodies generated from MorphoSys´ HuCAL GOLD® library, are directed against the target molecule CD38, which is heavily over-expressed on the surface of certain cancer cells. The MOR202 program is currently in pre-clinical development for the treatment of multiple myeloma and other blood-cancer related diseases. In line with its corporate strategy, MorphoSys plans to out-license the MOR202 antibody program before start of clinical development.The MOR202 antibodies were initially characterized in detail in various in vitro assays. By directing the MorphoSys antibodies against primary patient tumor material and specific hematologic cancer cell lines, the assays demonstrated that the antibodies were able to kill cancer cells efficiently. A MOR202 antibody also proved to be highly effective in an in vivo animal model. The HuCAL® IgG antibody was administered regularly to tumor-bearing mice over a period of between three and five weeks. In various experimental settings, different antibody constructs, dosages and treatment regimens were examined. In all cases, treatment with MOR202 antibody led to a significant slowdown of tumor growth, in some cases no tumor could be detected at the end of the observation period. MorphoSys has submitted several U.S. patent applications. These relate to specific anti-CD38 antibodies and their use.
Multiple myeloma, also called plasmocytoma, is a form of hematologic cancer that causes an increased overproduction of malignant plasma cells, particularly in the bone marrow. Plasma cells are a subset of white blood cells and are therefore key components of the immune system. In healthy individuals, the immune system acts as an efficient defense mechanism against pathogens and infectious diseases. The cause of the disease has not yet been fully identified. Despite other forms of treatment currently available, there is an unmet medical need for new therapies for multiple myeloma. At present, only 30% of treated patients survive for more than 5 years under present alternative therapies.
“These initial pre-clinical results from our new MOR202 cancer program are very promising”, said Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. “With the target molecule CD38, we believe that we have chosen an interesting starting point for long-term improvement of the treatment of various hematologic cancer types.”