MorphoSys unit, Pfizer ink Slonomics pact

German biotech MorphoSys has had a busy morning. It announced today that its subsidiary Sloning BioTechnology has signed a non-exclusive license and technology transfer agreement with pharma giant Pfizer. The agreement covers the installation, training and use of Sloning's technology platform Slonomics for the fabrication of gene and protein libraries at Pfizer's subsidiary Rinat Neuroscience in South San Francisco.

Sloning will receive an upfront payment and stands to receive annual license fees over the patent lifetime of the Slonomics technology platform. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

"This significant alliance around the Slonomics technology, only weeks after we closed the acquisition of Sloning, clearly illustrates the potential value of the platform," explains MorphoSys CEO Simon Moroney. "This alliance with Pfizer creates immediate value for our shareholders and is just the beginning of what we expect to be a considerable return-on-investment from the combined technology platforms of MorphoSys and Sloning in the years ahead."

Sloning was founded in 2001 near Munich. The company has developed and refined its proprietary technologies through collaborations with a number of pharmaceutical and industrial customers.

MorphoSys also reported today that it has increased its financial guidance for the year--mainly as a result of the Sloning acquisition. MorphoSys now expects full year revenues of between €91 million and €94 million ($120 million and $124 million).

In addition, three of MorphoSys' partners have filed applications for Phase I clinical trials with HuCAL antibodies. According to the company, HuCAL technology is one of the most powerful methods available for generating fully human antibodies. The filings trigger an undisclosed milestone payment to MorphoSys. The antibodies are being developed in the therapeutic areas of cancer and inflammatory diseases. Details on the individual programs will be published as the respective trials begin.

- check out the Sloning release
- get the MorphoSys financial release
- read the MorphoSys clinical trials release