MorphoSys has enter into a new alliance with Daiichi Sankyo in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies for hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections. Daiichi Sankyo becomes MorphoSys’s first collaborator for HuCAL PLATINUM-based drug discovery in infectious diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, MorphoSys and Daiichi Sankyo will collaboratively apply HuCAL PLATINUM, the latest version of MorphoSys’s antibody libraries. The companies will jointly apply established as well as new approaches to generate optimised, fully human therapeutic antibodies against targets associated with nosocomial infections.
Moreover, Daiichi Sankyo is also expected to commit funding for the development of certain infectious disease specific technology at MorphoSys, which will be used to identify a effective antibody-based drugs.
Reportedly, the total payments under the agreement include committed license fees and R&D funding in addition to success-based development milestones. MorphoSys will also receive royalties on sales of marketed drugs emerging from the collaboration.
Simon Moroney, CEO of MorphoSys, said: “This is another landmark deal for MorphoSys and is our first initiative in the infectious disease arena. Today’s news is proof that MorphoSys can tap new growth opportunities in the therapeutic antibody field on top of the established partnerships the company has in place. We see lucrative opportunities for our new HuCAL Platinum technology in the infectious disease field, which we intend to exploit within selected partnerships in the years ahead.”