RNS Number:4351B
Cambridge Antibody Tech Group PLC
2 April 2001


01/CAT/05

For Further Information Contact:

Cambridge Antibody Technology        
Tel: +44 (0) 1763 263233
David Chiswell, CEO
John Aston, Finance Director       
Rowena Gardner, Head of Corporate Communications       

HCC De Facto (Europe)
Tel: +44 (0) 20  7496 3300
Adam Michael
David Speechly
                                                                              
BMC Communications/The Trout Group (USA)
Tel: 001 212 477 9007
Brad Miles, ext 17 (media)
Brandon Lewis, ext.15 (investors)

CAT COMMENTS ON COURT DECISION

Melbourn, UK. The jury in the District Court of Washington DC was unable to
reach a decision on all but one of the issues before it in the action brought
by MorphoSys seeking a declaration that Cambridge Antibody Technology's US
"Griffiths" patent ( US 5,885,793 co owned by the MRC) is invalid and/or that
MorphoSys does not infringe the patent. Cambridge Antibody Technology
(LSE:CAT) subsequently counterclaimed in the action that MorphoSys did
infringe the patent.

The one issue the jury did agree on was, in favour of CAT, that CAT was
entitled to the priority dates of its British applications.  Several post
trial motions are being filed with the court and the parties are awaiting the
Court's decision.  If the court does not issue a dispositive ruling on the
question of validity then the case will be retried at a later date to be
arranged.



Notes to Editors:

Cambridge Antibody Technology (LSE: CAT)
CAT is a UK biotechnology company using its proprietary technologies in human
monoclonal antibodies for drug discovery and drug development.  Based in
Melbourn, 10 miles south of Cambridge, England, CAT currently employs around
220 people.  
CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange, having raised #41m in its IPO in
March 1997. A secondary offering in March 2000 raised #93m. 
CAT has a world-leading platform technology for rapidly isolating human
monoclonal antibodies using phage display systems. CAT has an extensive phage
display antibody library, currently incorporating around 100 billion distinct
antibodies. This library forms the basis for the company's strategy to develop
a portfolio of clinical development programmes and for discovering new drug
leads using functional genomics.  Four fully human therapeutic antibodies
developed by CAT are at various stages of clinical trials. 
CAT works in partnership with other companies at all stages of the drug
discovery and development process. CAT's collaborations, past and present,
include: AstraZeneca, BASF Pharma, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Genetics Institute,
Genzyme, Human Genome Sciences, Immunex, Oxford GlycoSciences, Pharmacia,
Pfizer, Wyeth-Ayerst and Zyomyx. 

Background to CAT's patents
CAT's patent portfolio includes about 30 families of patents, covering both
technologies and products.  CAT's core phage display technology is covered by
three main families of patents.
CAT and the MRC were awarded the US 'Griffiths' patent in March 1999 (the
patent is co-owned).
The Griffiths patent relates to methods of isolating specific antibodies to
human self-antigens from phage display libraries and to antibodies produced by
these methods.
In April 1999 MorphoSys filed a 'declaratory judgement action' in the US
District Court of Washington DC, asking the Court to declare that the CAT's
patent is invalid, and/or declare that it does not infringe the patent.  CAT
counter-claimed against MorphoSys for infringement.
Infringement litigation is pending in the same Court in respect of  CAT's US
"McCafferty" patent, US 5,969,108.  A trial date has been set for April 2002.
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