MorphoSys in tie-up with Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie

Collaboration agreed

MorphoSys AG has announced a broad alliance with the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, Berlin, covering the use of fully human recombinant research antibodies and commercialisation of resulting products. Under the terms of the agreement, the Leibniz Institute will receive access to novel HuCAL GOLD-based research antibodies from MorphoSys to identify and validate target molecules with potential medical applications. 

MorphoSys retains commercialisation rights for all antibodies emerging from the collaboration both as research antibody tools distributed via the AbD Serotec sales catalogue as well as in therapeutic or diagnostic applications. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. The announcement follows licensing deals earlier this year with Dutch biotech company Crucell and Melbourne University.

The company operates out of Martinsried, near Munich, and was formed in 1992 to commercialise work by Andreas Plückthun at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry at Martinsried.

Research at the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie focuses on the structures, functions and interactions of proteins and on the development of new concepts for interfering pharmacologically with their functions. This places the research activity of the institute at the forefront of drug development. An interdisciplinary approach is crucial to this type of work, and a particular strength of the institute is the close interaction in the fields of chemistry and biology.

The research activities of the institute are clustered into  three sections: structural biology; signal transduction and molecular genetics;and chemical biology. Through the alliance with MorphoSys researchers across all three sections of the institute will have access to the company’s proprietary HuCAL-based fully human antibodies against novel target molecules.

“We are looking forward very much to cooperating with MorphoSys. This kind of public–private partnership provides us with the perfect tools to study the proteins we are working on – in order to elucidate their function and to evaluate their potential as drug targets,” says Walter Rosenthal, director of the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie. “We are proud to be the first German scientific institution that holds such a cooperation with MorphoSys – strong support for our efforts to open new ways to transfer scientific results into therapy.”

“This agreement builds on relationships we have in place with leading, medically-focused research institutes in Japan and the U.S., including the Burnham Research Institute. This expanding network represents a promising way for MorphoSys and AbD Serotec to access the therapeutic targets and research products of tomorrow,” said Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG.  “With its high quality of interdisciplinary research and its clear focus on translational medicine the FMP is a perfect addition to this network which will ultimately strengthen MorphoSys's proprietary drug development capabilities.”