Novartis has committed to a 10-year term of the strategic alliance with MorphoSys. The companies began their alliance in December 2007. The decision to extend to the full term of the agreement was based on the successful achievement by MorphoSys of certain predefined improvements in its proprietary technologies, according to a MorphoSys statement. The collaboration will now run until 2017 and may be extended by Novartis for an additional two years beyond that time under the same financial terms and conditions. The option for Novartis to terminate the alliance after seven years has been removed.

"Our alliance with Novartis is developing well and we are therefore delighted to be able to exploit its full potential", commented Dr. Simon Moroney, chief executive officer of MorphoSys. "The latest technological advances in our core antibody platform contributed significantly to achieving this extension."

In December 2007, MorphoSys and Novartis forged a comprehensive strategic alliance in the discovery and development of biopharmaceuticals. Financial terms include committed payments in excess of $600 million over the 10-year lifetime of the agreement. Within the collaboration, two antibody programs are currently in clinical development.