MARTINSRIED, GERMANY and MUNICH, GERMANY--(Marketwired - May 2, 2013) - MorphoSys AG / MorphoSys Announces Clinical Milestone in Ophthalmology Program . Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today that it has received a milestone payment from Novartis in connection with the clinical trial application (CTA/IND) and projected initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial. The HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody will be developed in the therapeutic area of ophthalmology.

"Our pipeline of therapeutic antibody candidates is more advanced than ever. Today's news marks the first of up to five clinical milestones from our collaborators that we expect to see during the course of the year," commented Dr. Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys AG. "In total, our collaboration with Novartis has resulted in seven clinical programs to date, three currently being in Phase 1 and four in Phase 2."

Current Status of MorphoSys's Pipeline:

In total, MorphoSys's pipeline now comprises 21 clinical programs. Of these, 17 are partnered programs, of which nine are in Phase 1, seven are in Phase 2 and one is in Phase 2/3 development. The remaining four are the Company's proprietary programs MOR103, which has concluded a Phase 1b/2a trial for rheumatoid arthritis and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b trial in multiple sclerosis; MOR208, which has concluded a Phase 1 trial for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and will be evaluated in Phase 2 trials in B-ALL and NHL; and MOR202, which is in a Phase 1/2a trial for multiple myeloma.

About MorphoSys:

MorphoSys developed HuCAL, the most successful antibody library technology in the pharmaceutical industry. By successfully applying this and other patented technologies, MorphoSys has become a leader in the field of therapeutic antibodies, one of the fastest-growing drug classes in human healthcare. Together with its pharmaceutical partners, MorphoSys has built a therapeutic pipeline of more than 70 human antibody drug candidates for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease, to name just a few. With its ongoing commitment to new antibody technology and drug development, MorphoSys is focused on making the healthcare products of tomorrow. MorphoSys is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol MOR. For regular updates about MorphoSys, visit [ http://www.morphosys.com ]

HuCAL®, HuCAL GOLD®, HuCAL PLATINUM®, CysDisplay®, RapMAT®, arYla® and Ylanthia® and 100 billion high potentials® are registered trademarks of MorphoSys AG.

Slonomics® is a registered trademark of Sloning BioTechnology GmbH, a subsidiary of MorphoSys AG.

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the MorphoSys group of companies. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of MorphoSys as of the date of this release and involve risks and uncertainties. Should actual conditions differ from the Company's assumptions, actual results and actions may differ from those anticipated. MorphoSys does not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements as far as the wording of the relevant press release is concerned.

Media Release (PDF): [ http://hugin.info/130295/R/1697992/559749.pdf ]

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Source: MorphoSys AG via Thomson Reuters ONE

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