Novartis, MorphoSys Expand Antibody Alliance

MorphoSys AG has expanded its strategic alliance with Novartis to include new technologies aimed at accelerating the discovery of new therapeutic antibodies and to increase the overall productivity of the collaboration.

MorphoSys AG has expanded its strategic alliance with Novartis to include new technologies aimed at accelerating the discovery of new therapeutic antibodies and to increase the overall productivity of the collaboration. Financial details were not disclosed.
 
The companies will apply a suite of new technologies available to MorphoSys, including Ylanthia and Slonomics, to make therapeutic antibodies. The companies will also cross-license future technology improvements for their mutual benefit. Novartis will continue to fund a dedicated research team at MorphoSys and pay annual license fees until the end of the collaboration in 2017.
 
"Today's announcement marks the commercial launch of our new technology platform, Ylanthia," said Dr. Simon Moroney, chief executive officer of MorphoSys. "We are delighted to kick off this new phase in our growth as the premier source of therapeutic antibodies with our biggest partner, Novartis. This alliance is very successful and will continue to contribute significantly to our overall pipeline of therapeutic antibodies. I'm confident that by adding the newest technologies to our collaboration, we can be even more productive.”