NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — MorphoSys today said it has expanded by three years its collaboration with drug giant Pfizer for the development of antibody therapeutics.
The agreement builds upon a deal struck in 2003 scheduled to end in 2008. The new deal extends the collaboration to 2011 and includes a one-off payment from Pfizer, MorphoSys said.
Under the agreement, MorphoSys, based in Martinsried, Germany, will use its HuCAL Gold human combinatory antibody library to generate therapeutic antibodies against targets supplied by Pfizer, which Pfizer will then take to preclinical and clinical trials.
The collaboration currently involves five active antibody programs, but MorphoSys said that number could double under the new agreement.
MorphoSys also said the agreement offers potential royalties and milestone payments from resulting product sales.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.