MorphoSys

MorphoSys AG

Type	Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as	FWB: MOR
Industry	Biotechnology
Founded	1992 (1992)
Headquarters	Martinsried, Germany
Key people	Simon Moroney (founder and CEO), Gerald Möller (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products	Antibodies
Revenue	€87.0 million (2010)[1]
Operating income	€9.8 million (2010)[1]
Profit	€9.2 million (2010)[1]
Total assets	€212.6 million (end 2010)[1]
Total equity	€185.9 million (end 2010)[1]
Employees	460 (end 2010)[1]
Website	www.morphosys.com

MorphoSys AG is a German biotechnology company. It is involved in the development and research of antibodies.^[2] TecDAX has listed MorphoSys since 2004.

Technology

MorphoSys generates human antibodies that contain 100% human proteins^[3]. The company has named this technology 'HuCal' (Human Combinatorial Antibody Library), and is an antibody production method based on phage display.

Patent dispute with Cambridge Antibody Technology

Both MorphoSys and Cambridge Antibody Technology based their therapeutic antibody discovery technologies on phage display. Due to the significant CAT patent estate the two came together from 1999 to 2002 in a number of patent disputes that were eventually settled^[4]. Timeline of disputes:

• 1999, 26 April - MorphoSys announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Cambridge Antibody Technology in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit sought a declaration that MorphoSys does not infringe CAT’s recently-issued US Patent 5,885,793 covering certain methods of producing human antibodies. The suit also sought to have the CAT patent declared invalid.^[5].

• 1999, 14 October - MorphoSys announced a favourable outcome to its opposition against the UK Medical Research Council’s Winter II patent, which was exclusively licensed to Cambridge Antibody Technology. The outcome was based on a decision announced by the European Patent Office (EPO) on an opposition MorphoSys lodged against the patent. The decision required changes to the language of the key claim in the patent, thereby significantly narrowing the scope of protection^[6].

• 2001, 20 June - MorphoSys confirmed that Cambridge Antibody Technology, together with The Medical Research Council and The Scripps Research Institute, had initiated a lawsuit at the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego alleging infringement of CAT's "Winter II" US patent. The Winter II patent covers certain antibody expression libraries and methods of generating such libraries and was granted in the USA on June 19, 2001 (U.S. Patent No. 6,248,516).^[7]

• 2001, 25 June - MorphoSys announced that a lawsuit initiated by Cambridge Antibody Technology, together with The Medical Research Council and The Scripps Research Institute, alleging infringement of their "Winter II" US patent (No. 6,248,516) had been dismissed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego. The lawsuit was filed by CAT on June 19, 2001 and was dismissed by the court on Friday, June 22, 2001, for lack of jurisdiction and improper venue. MorphoSys has now filed an action for Declaratory judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington D.C.^[8]

• 2001, 19 August - MorphoSys announced that a court in San Diego has granted its motion to dismiss a second attempt by Cambridge Antibody Technology, together with The Medical Research Council, The Scripps Research Institute and Stratagene to bring a suit alleging infringement of their "Winter II" US patent (No. 6,248,516). In late June, the Court dismissed CAT’s earlier-filed suit against MorphoSys on the same patent. Prior to CAT’s second filing, MorphoSys filed a suit in a District Court in Washington, DC seeking a declaration of non-infringement and invalidity of the Winter II patent^[9].

• 2001, 19 August - MorphoSys announced that the District Court in Washington, DC issued a preliminary ruling in its favour in the dispute with Cambridge Antibody Technology concerning the Griffiths patent (U.S. Patent 5,885,793). The ruling followed a March 2001 trial at which the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the validity of the patent or whether MorphoSys infringed it. The preliminary ruling issued on August 17 states that "MorphoSys should prevail on the issue of infringement", pending further briefings or proceedings.^[10]

• 2001, 20 September - MorphoSys confirmed that Cambridge Antibody Technology, together with Medical Research Council, Scripps Research Institute and Stratagene, had initiated a lawsuit at the United States District Court of Washington D.C. alleging infringement of two of CAT's recently granted "Huse/Lerner/Winter" patents in the U.S. The two Huse/Lerner/Winter patents subject to those proceedings allegedly covering certain antibody expression libraries and were granted in the U.S.A. on September 19, 2001 (U.S. Patent Nos. 6,291,158 and 6,291,161). The lawsuit alleges that MorphoSys infringes three claims found in the two patents^[11].

• 2002, 28 January - MorphoSys announced that on January 24, 2002, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., had denied Cambridge Antibody Technology’s motion to dismiss or transfer a suit filed by MorphoSys seeking declaratory judgement for non-infringement and invalidity of the U.S. “Winter II” patent (No. 6,248,516). As a result the Winter II patent case in the U.S. will now proceed as a MorphoSys action for declaratory judgement in the Washington, D.C. District Court. The decision relating to the Winter II law suit, involves a separate proceeding from that relating to the favorable ruling MorphoSys received on December 21, 2001, from the same court concerning the U.S. “Griffiths” patent (No. 5,885,793). In the Griffiths case, the Court stated its intent to enter partial summary judgement against CAT in favor of MorphoSys on CAT’s claim of infringement, unless a “genuine issue as to any material fact remains for trial”^[12].

• 2002, 3 November - MorphoSys AG announced that on March 8, 2002 the District Court in Washington, DC issued a final ruling in its favor in the dispute with Cambridge Antibody Technology concerning the Griffiths patent (U.S. Patent 5,885,793). According to the court ruling, MorphoSys application of its proprietary HuCAL antibody libraries does not infringe the claims of the Griffiths patent, thereby giving MorphoSys full freedom to operate with regard to the patent^[13].

• 2002, 23 December - MorphoSys AG and Cambridge Antibody Technology announced that they had agreed to settle all patent disputes between the two companies. The settlement agreement covered MorphoSys’ past, present and future use and commercialisation of all versions of its HuCAL libraries, and included the most recent development at that time, HuCAL GOLD and related to all patents in the ongoing disputes between the two companies. This included litigation in the United States regarding CAT’s Griffiths, McCafferty, Winter II and Winter/Lerner/Huse patents as well as oppositions launched by MorphoSys at the European Patent Office against CAT’s Winter II and McCafferty patents.

The companies agreed to terms under which MorphoSys will be free to develop and commercialise its HuCAL technologies. CAT undertook not to sue MorphoSys in relation to present HuCAL GOLD libraries and all future derivatives thereof. In addition, MorphoSys received a licence to the CAT patent estate in respect of previous HuCAL libraries.

CAT received an annual payment of € 1 million over the next five years. It was to also receive other financial consideration from MorphoSys’ activities related to its HuCAL GOLD libraries for a defined period of time. CAT would receive milestone and royalty payments under the licence for products developed using previous HuCAL libraries. In addition, CAT would receive an equity stake of 588,160 ordinary shares in MorphoSys under the licence agreement. MorphoSys retained the option to buy out its obligations to CAT for a pre-defined fixed amount at any time during the duration of the agreement^[14].

Pipeline

MorphoSys has numerous candidates in its clinical development pipeline^[15].

As of August 2009, its most advanced drug candidate is MOR103, a fully human HuCAL antibody directed against GM-CSF (granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor), developed in the area of inflammatory diseases, i.e. rheumatoid arthritis^[16].

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Annual Report 2010". MorphoSys. http://www.morphosys.com/sites/default/files/MOR_Annual_Report_2010.pdf. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
2. ^ "MorphoSys Strengthens Patent Position on its Core HuCAL Technology in Europe". http://aktien.wallstreet-online.de/10190/nachrichten.html?news_id=2696245&inst_id=10190&market_id=1&spid=ws. Retrieved 2008-03-24. 
3. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/technologies/advantages_of_human_antibodies-130.html
4. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/company/history-85.html
5. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-209.html
6. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-208.html
7. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-167.html
8. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-166.html
9. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-164.html
10. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-163.html
11. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-162.html
12. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-135.html
13. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-134.html
14. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/news_investors/press-release-132.html
15. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/therapeutic_antibodies/overview-446.html
16. ^ http://www.morphosys.com/en/therapeutic_antibodies/proprietary_therapeutic_product_pipeline-317.html

External links

• Official website