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news.MorphoSys has received EUR1m grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF, to accelerate the development of its HuCAL-based cancer program MOR202 into clinical development for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
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MOR202 is a fully human, HuCAL antibody directed against CD38, a membrane- bound glycoprotein that is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of multiple myeloma and certain leukemias.
MorphoSys said that in pre-clinical studies, MOR202 showed efficacy in demonstrating inhibition of tumor growth in SCID-mouse xenograft tumor models and killed cancer cells from primary patient tumor material and certain hematologic cancer cell lines.
The program is expected to move into clinical trials in Q1 2011.
As part of the program, MorphoSys plans to explore relevant biomarkers for the anti-CD38 approach in collaboration with Klinikum rechts der Isar, the university hospital of Munich Technical University.
Arndt Schottelius, chief development officer of MorphoSys, said: “We believe that MOR202 has a very competitive profile and distinct advantages over similar programs in the industry.
“As part of the research program with Klinikum rechts der Isar we plan to explore certain biomarkers for this new therapeutic approach, thereby further differentiating our program. This grant supports the MOR202 program, for which we are on track to file a clinical trial application in Europe before the end of 2010.”