Morphotek Announces Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Novo Nordisk for Improvements to a Protein Process of a Marketed Therapeutic Protein

Morphotek Inc. today announced that it has entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) for the use of Morphotek's Morphodoma® and DIRECT-LINE® technology to make significant improvements to a protein process of a marketed Novo Nordisk therapeutic protein.

"We are delighted to have a premier biopharmaceutical company such as Novo Nordisk employing our platform technology to develop an optimized process for their marketed products," stated Nicholas C. Nicolaides, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Morphotek.

"This collaboration is a further validation of the usefulness of our platform to aid in the rapid development of high-titer manufacturing cell lines from pre-clinical through to commercial phase," added Philip M. Sass, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Morphotek.

Novo Nordisk is a focused healthcare company. With the broadest diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems, Novo Nordisk is a world leader in diabetes care. In addition, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services that make a significant difference to patients, the medical profession and society. With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 18,200 people in 68 countries and markets its products in 179 countries. Novo Nordisk's B shares are listed on the stock exchanges in Copenhagen and London. Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'NVO'.

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