Morphotek Announces Delivery of Evolved Cell Line to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals for Target Discovery

Morphotek Inc. announced today that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical unit of Wyeth (NYSE:WYE), has accepted an evolved cancer cell line from the companies' research collaboration. The acceptance of the cell line resulted in an undisclosed milestone payment to Morphotek. The novel cell line comes from a research program employing Morphotek's proprietary Direct-Line® technology, a process that can rapidly evolve somatic cells to generate subclones with de novo phenotypes for studying the mode of action of lead compounds as well as elucidating molecular pathways involved in certain cancer cell phenotypes. The process has been employed to develop cell lines useful for understanding the molecular mechanism of a small molecule that is in clinical development.

"The generation of this line is one more example of the utility of our DIRECT–LINETM technology to rapidly produce valuable cell based systems for drug target discovery and pathway elucidation for our partners as well as for our own internal discovery efforts," said Nicholas C. Nicolaides, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Morphotek.

Philip M. Sass, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer added, "Our DIRECT–LINETM technology results in the rapid evolution of any somatic or primary cell line, so it offers collaborators a robust enabling technology to elucidate important pathways useful for diagnostic analysis and drug development. We are now exploring options to expand our collaboration for further pathway discovery involved in the de novo phenotype of this derived cell line."

Morphotek (www.morphotek.com) is a biotechnology company focused on the generation of proprietary organisms for product development using a patented platform technology that can enhance the natural process of genetic evolution within a targeted host. The technology has been successfully applied to microbes, plants, and mammals to yield genetically diverse offspring that are suitable for pharmaceutical and agricultural product development in the areas of antibody therapeutics, protein therapeutics, product manufacturing, drug target discovery, and improved output traits for commercial applications. The company is currently focusing its platform on the development and manufacturing of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and infectious disease.

For Information Contact:
Dr. Nicholas C. Nicolaides, President, CEO and CSO
Morphotek Inc.
610-423-6102

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