The Company was incorporated in Delaware as a C-corporation in September 1999. The Company was founded by Drs. Nicholas C. Nicolaides, Philip M. Sass, and Luigi Grasso. The co-founders have extensive experience in genetic-based research and Genomics-based pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. The Company is a co-development business whose goal is to become the market leader in supplying the unmet need of Agricultural, Life Science and Pharmaceutical Companies with genetically diverse organisms for commercial products as well as develop its own internal products for therapeutic use.

Business Strategy: Morphotek is employing its MORPHODOMA process in co-development deals to generate efficacious therapeutic antibodies as well as high-titer producer strains that can generate sufficient yields for manufacturing. Deal terms include an upfront access fee, R&D; fee, and milestone payments resulting in near-term revenues in addition to annual royalty payments on sales of commercialized products. Morphotek is using proceeds from collaborations to develop its own therapeutic antibodies that will be partnered for commercialization with larger pharmaceutical companies.

Business Description: Morphotek is a biotech company focused on the generation of proprietary organisms for product development using a platform technology that can enhance the natural process of genetic evolution within a targeted host for pharmaceutical product development in the areas of antibody therapeutics, product manufacturing, and drug target discovery.

Product Line or Service: Morphotek is currently developing its own proprietary monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer. The Company also leverages its patented MORPHODOMATM technology to co-develop high affinity monoclonal antibodies and high-titer producer lines with corporate partners for the development and commercialization of therapeutic antibodies.

Technology/Proprietary Rights: MORPHODOMA technology is a unique process that can generate antibody producer cells with high-affinity antibodies as well as high-titer producer strains for manufacturing. The technology is unique because of its ability to evolve cellular genomes in vivo to yield commercially valuable sublines.

Market Opportunities: The antibody therapeutics market is projected to exceed $4 billion in revenues by the year 2004 and maintain a minimum annual average growth rate of twenty percent over the next decade. In addition to antibody-based drug products, it is anticipated that significant revenues will generated in this market segment by biotech companies with platforms that can produce more efficacious antibodies as well as high-titer producer strains for manufacturing.

Marketing/Sales and Distribution: Morphotek will out-license its technology for antibody development and partner its own products for commercialization through strategic partnerships with big pharmaceutical and large biotechnology companies.

Companies with previous histories of in-licensing technology for antibody development and products include but are not limited to large companies such as Amgen, AstraZeneca, Aventis, BASF, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Centocor, Eli Lilly, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Human Genome Sciences, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Medarex, Medimmune, Merck AG, Novartis, Schering Plough; and Wyeth Ayerst.

Competition: Several companies exist that develop therapeutic antibodies and high-titer producer strains. These companies include Abgenix, Cambridge Antibody Group, GenMab, Medarex, Morphosys, Protein Design Labs, Sangamo BS and Xenerex BS. None of their technology offers the ability to directly evolve a cell's genome to yield manufacturing-grade lines exhibiting high-titer production and/or antibodies with enhanced therapeutic activity.