MorphoSys, Seattle Genetics, Bayer, FIND deal

MorphoSys and Seattle Genetics will receive undisclosed milestone payments from Bayer's Bayer Schering Pharma AG subsidiary, triggered by Bayer's submission of an application to start a Phase I trial of MN-IC, a HuCAL-derived fully human antibody against carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), to treat cancer. MorphoSys received the payment under a 1999 deal to use its HuCAL human combinatorial antibody library to generate antibodies against targets from Bayer. Seattle Genetics received the payment under a 2004 deal under which Bayer obtained rights to use Seattle Genetics' antibody-drug conjugate technology with antibodies against CAIX. This is the first milestone payment received by Seattle Genetics (see BioCentury, Dec. 12, 2005). ...