MorphoSys and U.S. Army Enter into Biodefense Cooperation - MorphoSys’s AbD Serotec Awarded Sole Supplier Contract to USAMRIID

09/25/2006 - MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today that its business unit AbD Serotec has won a contract as sole source on a biodefense-related project by the USAMRIID, an organization of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Program. The USAMRIID has ordered fully human recombinant research antibodies against five bacterial-derived toxins. AbD Serotec will generate these antibodies using the HuCAL GOLD® antibody library developed by MorphoSys. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Biological toxins derived from living organisms, such as bacteria and other micro-organisms or plants are biological agents with potential implications in bioterrorism. HuCAL®-derived antibodies may support the development of countermeasures against such biological toxins or act as therapeutic agents themselves.

HuCAL GOLD® is the latest and most powerful antibody library developed by MorphoSys. The technology utilizes a unique concept for the in vitro generation of highly specific and fully human antibodies. It is ideally suited for a broad range of purposes reaching from target validation to drug development. In contrast to traditional methods of antibody generation using animals MorphoSys’s recombinant HuCAL GOLD® technology can deliver antibodies against toxic molecules.

“Securing this contract with the USAMRIID underscores the enormous potential of our proprietary HuCAL GOLD® technology in the increasingly important biodefense field,” commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. “The project clearly speaks to one of several advantages of our recombinant antibody technology, in this case the generation of antibodies against toxins, which would not be possible with animal-based technologies.”

For further information please contact: Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Löser, Director Corporate Communications, Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-122, gutjahr-loeser@morphosys.com or Mario Brkulj, Manager Public Relations, Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-454, brkulj@morphosys.com

About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys develops and applies innovative technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies, which accelerate drug discovery and target characterization. Founded in 1992, the Company’s proprietary Human Combinatorial Antibody Library (HuCAL) technology is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company currently has licensing agreements and/or research collaborations with Bayer (USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (USA), Centocor Inc. (USA), Daiichi Sankyo & Co., Ltd. (Japan), GPC Biotech AG (Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (USA), Merck & Co., Inc. (USA), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Novoplant GmbH (Germany), OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (USA), Pfizer Inc. (USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Israel), Schering AG (Germany), Schering-Plough (USA), Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Japan), Xoma Ltd. (USA) and others. Additionally, MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market through its AbD Serotec business unit. The business unit was founded in 2003 for the purpose of exploiting the MorphoSys non-therapeutic antibody markets. MorphoSys’ activities in the research antibody segment were significantly strengthened through the acquisition of the U.K. and U.S.-based Biogenesis Group in January 2005 and Serotec Group in 2006. For further information please visit the corporate website at: http://www.morphosys.com/.

About USAMRIID:
USAMRIID, (Fort Detrick, Maryland) conducts basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical solutions to protect military service members. USAMRIID, an organization of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program. The Institute plays a key role as the only laboratory in the Department of Defense (DoD) equipped to safely study highly hazardous infectious agents requiring maximum containment at biosafety level (BSL)-4. As the center of excellence for DoD medical biological defense research, USAMRIID’s challenge is to maintain its world-class scientific and technology base while being responsive to its primary customer - the warfighter.

The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the safe harbour provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “expects” and similar expressions. The company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the company’s future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect future operations and business prospects include, but are not limited to, clinical and scientific results and developments concerning corporate collaborations and the company’s proprietary rights and other factors described in the prospectus relating to the company’s recent public offering.

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