Morphosys Discovers New Class of Antibody Therapeutics  

Description and Advantages  

Morphosys AG and Pro-Chon Biotech Ltd. announced the discovery of a novel antibody lead resulting from their collaboration initiated in June 2000. The antibody, representing a novel class of drug candidates selected from MorphoSys' HuCAL antibody libraries, was demonstrated by ProChon to specifically block the function of mutated, overactive forms of human growth factor receptors.  These mutated forms are associated with inherited skeletal disorders and have been linked to tumor progression and prognosis in several types of cancer, including bladder carcinoma, cervical carcinoma and multiple myeloma. A patent to protect all rights on the invention has been field recently by ProChon.  
  
"This achievement demonstrates the very substantial versatility and untapped potential of the MorphoSys HuCal antibody library", said Dr. Thomas von Rueden, Chief Scientific Officer, MorphoSys AG. ProChon Biotech Ltd. is dedicated to the invention, development and commercialisation of novel treatments for various inherited and acquired skeletal disorders caused by altered activity of Fibroblast Growth Factors and their receptors. 
  
MorphoSys develops and applies innovative technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies, which accelerate drug discovery and target characterization. 

Area Of Application  

"We are very excited about this important invention", said Professor Avner Yayon, Chief Scientific, Officer,  ProChon Biotech. We believe that this is the first reported antibody able to block the activity of these constitutively activated receptors and as such, may lead us to an entirely new class of treatments for various cancers and skeletal disorders." 
   
Source: Pharmabiz, August 2, 2001