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Morphotek Inc. today announced that it has entered into a Research, Evaluation and Collaboration Agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”) to apply Morphotek's proprietary MORPHODOMA® technology to GSK’s antibody producer lines to generate cell lines that exhibit new or improved biological characteristics. GSK is the eighth sublicensee of Morphotek's cell line optimization technology platform. Under the terms of the non-exclusive agreement, Morphotek will receive funding to support research and development efforts for an initial project to be performed for GSK, with the option for GSK to retain Morphotek for two additional projects. Morphotek may also receive annual licensing fees and milestone payments upon the successful achievement of project goals and the advancement of the resultant products through clinical development. GSK will conduct the preclinical and clinical development and subsequent commercialization of all products. We are delighted by the opportunity to collaborate with one of the world’s premier pharmaceutical development companies," stated Nicholas C. Nicolaides, President and Chief Executive Officer of Morphotek. "This exciting collaboration is yet another validation of our technology. We are looking forward to working with the team at GSK and enhancing the quality and value of their proprietary products.
Commenting on the agreement, Mike Owen, the Senior Vice President of the GSK Biopharm Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery said "This exciting collaboration with Morphotek is a further demonstration of GSK's commitment to establish a leading position in the biopharmaceutical market. We look forward to developing a strong collaboration with the team at Morphotek.
Morphotek is a biotechnology company focused on the generation of proprietary organisms for product discovery and development. Morphotek has a validated and patented platform technology called morphogenics that rapidly enhances the natural process of genetic evolution within a targeted host to yield variants with novel, commercially important output traits. This versatile 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 and protein therapeutics, high-titer protein manufacturing, and drug target discovery. Internally, Morphotek employs its morphogenics technology to develop optimized therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases. For further company information visit: http://www.morphotek.com
For Information Contact:
Kimberly IlgenfritzExecutive Director, Business Development & MarketingMorphotek, Inc.
Telephone: (610) 423-6147