Chemicon International and MorphoSys Enter into Worldwide Licensing Agreement for Research Antibodies
January 10 2006 - 10:30AM
Business Wire
Serologicals Corporation (NASDAQ: SERO) announced today that
Chemicon International, Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiary, and
MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard
Segment, TecDAX) have signed a three-year agreement for the
distribution of HuCAL(R)-based recombinant research antibodies
through Chemicon's worldwide sales network. MorphoSys's Antibodies
by Design unit will develop antibodies from its proprietary HuCAL
GOLD(R) antibody library against targets identified and supplied by
Chemicon, a leading provider of research tools. Chemicon may market
the licensed HuCAL(R)-based research antibodies for use in in vitro
research as stand-alone products or as components of reagent kits.
In addition, Chemicon may also market the antibodies for clinical
diagnostic applications. The parties are aiming to complete 100
research antibody projects per year over the three year life time
of the agreement. MorphoSys receives payment for antibody
generation, optional additional fees, and royalties on all
products. Further financial details were not disclosed. "The
MorphoSys HuCAL(R) recombinant antibody technology will allow us to
rapidly generate the antibodies our customers are looking for, and
shorten our time to market in key target areas," commented Jeffrey
D. Linton, President of Chemicon. "We believe that the access to
these new antibodies will further strengthen our extremely broad
portfolio of antibody and immunological reagents within our
targeted strategic market segments." "Joining forces with Chemicon
as a leading provider of tools in active research areas such as
stem cell biology is a very attractive opportunity for MorphoSys,
and will provide the research community with easy access to
HuCAL(R) antibodies through Chemicon's strong distribution network
and market presence," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive
Officer of MorphoSys AG. "The contract supports MorphoSys's goal to
introduce a large number of HuCAL(R) research antibodies into the
market as quickly as possible, and will continue to add to our
revenues over the next couple of years through an attractive
royalty stream." Chemicon International, Inc. offers a broad range
of research products, including specialty reagents, kits,
antibodies, and custom products and services, to customers working
in the areas of neuroscience, stem cell biology, cancer, and
infectious disease research. It is also a leading supplier of
monoclonal antibodies, conjugates, antibody blends and
molecular-based detection kits for use in diagnostic laboratories.
Chemicon focuses on basic and biomedical research, drug discovery,
and diagnostics, allowing it to serve thousands of customers
worldwide in the academic, clinical, biotechnology, and
pharmaceutical sectors. Acquired in 2003, Chemicon is a
Serologicals company, based in Temecula, CA. For more information,
please visit our website: www.chemicon.com. Serologicals
Corporation (NASDAQ: SERO), headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is a
global leader in developing and commercializing consumable
biological products, enabling technologies and services in support
of biological research, drug discovery, and the bioprocessing of
life-enhancing products. Our customers include researchers at major
life science companies and leading research institutions involved
in key disciplines, such as neurology, oncology, hematology,
immunology, cardiology, proteomics, infectious diseases, cell
signaling and stem cell research. In addition, Serologicals is the
world's leading provider of monoclonal antibodies for the blood
typing industry. Serologicals employs a total of more than 1,000
people worldwide in three Serologicals' companies: Chemicon
International, headquartered in Temecula, CA, Upstate Group, LLC,
headquartered in Charlottesville, VA and Celliance Corporation,
headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information, please visit
our website: www.serologicals.com. MorphoSys develops and applies
innovative technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies
which accelerate drug discovery and target characterization.
Founded in 1992, the Company's proprietary Human Combinatorial
Antibody Library (HuCAL)(R) technology is used by researchers
worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company currently has
licensing agreements and/or research collaborations with Bayer
(Berkeley, California/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim,
Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (New Jersey/USA), Centocor Inc.
(Malvern, Pennsylvania/USA), GPC Biotech AG (Munich/Germany),
Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel/Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc.
(Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Merck & Co., Inc. (New
Jersey/USA), Novartis AG (Basel, Switzerland), Novoplant GmbH
(Gatersleben, Germany), Pfizer Inc. (Delaware/USA), ProChon Biotech
Ltd. (Rehovot/Israel), Schering AG (Berlin/Germany), Shionogi &
Co., Ltd. (Japan), Xoma Ltd. (Berkeley, California/USA) and others.
Additionally, MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market
through its Antibodies by Design business unit. Antibodies by
Design was founded in 2003 for the purpose of exploiting the
MorphoSys non-therapeutic antibody markets. MorphoSys' activities
in the research antibody segment were significantly strengthened
through the acquisition of the U.K. and U.S.-based Biogenesis Group
in January 2005. For further information please visit the corporate
website at: http://www.morphosys.com/. This release contains
certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words or phrases
such as "should result," "are expected to," "we anticipate," "we
estimate," "we project" or similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject
to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking
statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, since the statements speak only as of the date that
they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update
these statements based on events that may occur after the date of
this press release. Serologicals is a registered trademark of
Serologicals Royalty Company.
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