MorphoSys / Boehringer / ICAM-1
Tuesday February 25 MUNICH -(Dow Jones)- MorphoSys AG and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH ( G.BRI) have entered a therapeutic antibody collaboration and cross license agreement, MorphoSys said Tuesday.
Under the terms of the agreements, MorphoSys receives an exclusive, worldwide license to patents owned or controlled by Boehringer Ingelheim to develop, make and sell therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies targeting the ICAM-1 molecule. Boehringer Ingelheim will receive exclusive commercial licenses to therapeutic antibodies against two undisclosed targets, which MorphoSys will generate utilizing its HuCAL GOLD antibody technology.
For the sale of therapeutic antibodies and diagnostic antibodies against ICAM- 1, MorphoSys will make milestone and royalty payments to Boehringer Ingelheim. Boehringer Ingelheim will make milestone and royalty payments to MorphoSys for the development and sale of HuCAL antibodies delivered by MorphoSys.
No further financial details were disclosed.
In clinical trials conducted several years ago, Boehringer Ingelheim found first preliminary evidence for the usefulness of a mouse antibody against ICAM-1 in deep dermal burn and rheumatoid arthritis.
MorphoSys will develop fully human antibodies against ICAM-1, utilizing its proprietary HuCAL GOLD technology, in two areas relating to inflammation. In the first program, MOR101, an antibody fragment is being developed in the indication of deep dermal burn. MOR102, the second antibody program, will be developed for the treatment of psoriasis. The fully human HuCAL antibodies against ICAM-1 are expected to have excellent efficacy profiles in these inflammatory disorders while having none of the immunogenic side effects associated with the mouse antibody.
"This is an important milestone for us," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys. "With this deal we have secured exclusive rights to an extremely promising target for antibody therapy that underpins two of our development programs. Most importantly, we already know that an antibody against ICAM-1 has shown efficacy in phase II clinical trials and we can therefore be very confident of the chances of success of our programs. Furthermore, the collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim illustrates our ability to leverage our HuCAL technology to access promising targets."
"We are pleased to take advantage of the HuCAL technology developed by MorphoSys", commented Professor Peter Mueller, Senior Vice President, R&D of Boehringer Ingelheim's US R&D Center. "This deal will further strengthen our capability to generate innovative new biological entities in the areas of autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases." |
