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MorphoSys and the University of Melbourne File New Patent Applications in MOR103 Program

02 Jul 2009 - MorphoSys AG and the University of Melbourne announced an agreement to cooperate on investigating new therapeutic applications for MorphoSys's MOR103 program. MOR103, a HuCAL antibody against human GM-CSF (Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor), is currently in development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The collaboration will focus on new therapeutic areas in which GM-CSF has recently been implicated in as-yet unpublished work of researchers at the University of Melbourne. As part of the expanded relationship, new patent applications have been filed, which are intended to broaden the patent position of the anti-GM-CSF approach.
 
Under the terms of the agreement, MorphoSys will fund research activities at the University of Melbourne in multiple new indications. The University of Melbourne will receive an upfront payment and will be entitled to research funding, clinical milestone and royalty payments. Further financial details were not disclosed. In 2007, MorphoSys signed an agreement with the University of Melbourne, providing the company with an exclusive license to a patent family covering therapeutic uses of inhibitors of GM-CSF. The claims of the patent are directed to methods of ameliorating the effects of inflammation by administering to a patient an antibody directed against GM-CSF. In November 2008, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued the patent U.S. Patent No. 7,455,836, covering key uses of antibodies against GM-CSF. Human GM-CSF is already implicated in a number of medical conditions.