Alliance to Develop Human Anti-Cancer Antibodies

A collaboration to develop human antibodies for cancer therapy has been announced by ProChon Biotech (Rehovot, Israel) and MorphoSys (Munich, Germany). The two biotechnology companies have signed an antibody development agreement, under the terms of which MorphoSys acquires the rights to a portfolio of anti-cancer antibodies under development at ProChon. The agreement gives MorphoSys the exclusive right to develop and commercialize the antibodies for therapeutic applications in the field of oncology. The two companies have also agreed to expand an existing collaboration to work on related antibodies.

The antibodies involved in the agreement are directed against a human growth factor receptor, fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR 3), and were generated by MorphoSys using its proprietary HuCAL technology. FGFR 3, a major development target at ProChon, is a member of a family of growth factor receptors implicated in skeletal disorders such as Achondroplasia (dwarfism) as well as some forms of cancer.

"This is an important agreement for MorphoSys, since it gives us unrestricted rights to develop a set of highly promising anti-cancer antibodies,” said Dr. Simon Moroney, CEO of MorphoSys. "We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with ProChon to develop further antibodies in this class, which may become additional drug candidates.”

"This agreement represents a significant validation of ProChon's discovery and therapeutic approach for multiple indications targeting aberrant receptor activity. We look forward to expanding our collaboration with the MorphoSys team and to the successful clinical development of these antibodies for the benefit of cancer patients,” said Prof. Avner Yayon, President and chief scientific officer of ProChon Biotech Ltd.




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ProChon Biotech
MorphoSys