The milestone payment will also be used to start a Phase 1 clinical trial of a HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody to treat inflammatory diseases.
MorphoSys chief scientific officer Marlies Sproll said their fifth clinical program within the Novartis alliance clearly underpins the success of this collaboration.
"This program is one of seven that have moved into the clinic in 2010, which was an outstanding year in this regard," Sproll said.
MorphoSys’s clinical pipeline now comprises nine partnered programs in Phase 1 and five in Phase 2 development as well as the company’s proprietary programs MOR103, which is in a Phase 1b/2a trial for rheumatoid arthritis, and MOR208, which is in a Phase 1 trial for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.