MorphoSys opens UK headquarters in Oxford
pharmafile | January 31, 2007 | News story | Research and Development |
A leading producer of antibodies for biotech drug research and manufacturing has opened a new UK headquarters in Oxford.
MorphoSys generates and designs therapeutic antibodies i.e. antibodies intended to treat specific disease mechanisms, as well as antibodies to be used in research.
The company generates therapeutic antibodies and then hands them over for pre-clinical or clinical development to pharma or biotech company clients, which currently include Roche and Pfizer.
AbD Serotec is the company's business unit for producing antibodies for research purposes and the new Oxford site will serve the needs of the region's cluster of academic research and biotech companies.
Strong growth in sales has spurred the company on to bring together all its UK operations at a single site in Oxford.
"The Oxford region provides us with a strong infrastructure and a high concentration of excellent academic researchers and innovative biotechnology companies – both potential customers for our technology," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, chief executive of MorphoSys.
"Since the UK represents one of the top three markets for our research antibody segment operating under the AbD Serotec brand, a strong presence in this region will remain a key element of our future strategy."
Attending the opening of the new site, UK Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Malcolm Wicks, said: "The UK has a deserved reputation for excellence in biotechnology. This new facility demonstrates further that the UK is an attractive location for European businesses to invest.
"I welcome this investment by the MorphoSys Group, which links two of Europe's most successful biotech clusters, and wish the company well for its plans to grow its business in the UK and abroad," Wicks concluded.
MorphoSys has its headquarters in Frankfurt, a biotech cluster of similar size to Oxford.
