MorphoSys has announced a private placement of shares to raise funds for its antibody therapy programs. With this push, the company is solidifying its position as a leader in the therapeutic antibody market, which is expected to reach €117B by 2021.
MorphoSys, one of the few European billion euro biotechs, develops therapeutic antibodies for immuno-oncology, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The German company has just announced a private placement of up to 10% of its share capital with the aim of raising funds to advance its antibody therapy pipeline.
The cash will push forward Morphosys’ proprietary antibody therapy programs to treat various types of blood cancer, all currently in Phase II. If everything goes well, the company expects to start Phase III with its lead candidate MOR208 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) next year. In addition, the funds will support MOR106, developed in partnership with Galapagos to treat atopic dermatitis, as well as other pre-clinical and clinical candidates.
Just in the third quarter of 2016, MorphoSys successfully completed a Phase II/III trial for DLBCL, started two new trials and received two milestone payments from its partnership with Novartis. Guselkumab, a candidate licensed to Janssen, has proved to work better than the top-selling biological Humira in Phase III trials for plaque psoriasis.
Along with the private placement, MorphoSys has announced that guselkumab also showed positive results in Phase IIa for active psoriatic arthritis. Together with its record of 110 therapeutic programs, top-notch partnerships and a target market expected to grow to a huge €117B by 2021, the new placement will likely attract plenty of investors to give it an edge over its rivals AbbVie and Genmab.
For more info on the exciting technology from MorphoSys, check our interview with its CEO Simon Moroney, one of the top Biotech leaders in Munich:
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Figure from MorphoSys