GENEART and MorphoSys Successfully Cooperate in HuCAL PLATINUM® Project

- New HuCAL PLATINUM® antibody library is based on DNA components
synthesized by GENEART
- High quality of DNA components produced improves diversity and
affinity of antibodies in new HuCAL PLATINUM®
- Rational gene sequence design by GENEART's proprietary software
GeneOptimizer® leads to significantly higher production rates in
tested antibodies
- Improved antibody library HuCAL PLATINUM® enables shortening of
development timelines, i.e. for the development of promising drug
candidates

Regensburg, December 16, 2008 - Today GENEART (FSE: G6A, Entry
Standard Segment) and MorphoSys (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment,
TecDAX) announce their successful cooperation in the HuCAL PLATINUM®
project. The application of GENEART's proprietary sequence design
software GeneOptimizer® and production of significant parts of the
antibody library allowed GENEART to make a large contribution to this
project. Initial tests show that the HuCAL PLATINUM® translates into
an up to 25 fold higher diversity compared to the previous version
HuCAL GOLD®, and thereby provides more divers fully human antibodies
as well as facilitating the selection of antibodies with a higher
average affinity. Due to comprehensive sequence optimization,
production rates of selected antibodies are significantly higher as
well. Therefore, this next-generation antibody library does not only
allow the identification of antibodies with improved characteristics
but also the significant shortening of timelines for the development
of promising drug candidates to pre-clinical studies.

"In GENEART we found the right partner in the field of DNA
Engineering and Directed Evolution for this complex project. The high
quality of the gene libraries produced and GENEART's sequence
optimization were essential requirements for the realization of HuCAL
PLATINUM®'s increased diversity and improved expression rates",
explained Dr. Marlies Sproll, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys
AG.

HuCAL PLATINUM® contains the genetic information of approximately 45
billion fully human antibodies. By using the GeneOptimizer® GENEART
largely eliminated DNA motifs identified as potentially distracting
the subsequent production of antibodies. Additionally, MorphoSys
eliminated limiting motifs at the protein level. This resulted in
doubling the production rate of selected antibodies, which is
expected to significantly reduce the timeline of projects involving
the generation of antibodies and to increase efficiency considerably
since a larger number of suitable candidates with improved
characteristics is accessible faster.

"The MorphoSys technology has already set a standard for the
development of therapeutic antibodies in the past. All the more we
are pleased to have made a contribution to the further development of
this powerful tool. In addition, our cooperation is a good example of
how GENEART adds definite value for the customer by combining
proprietary optimization technology with our knowhow in the field of
Directed Evolution", commented Prof. Dr. Ralf Wagner, CEO of GENEART
AG.

For further inquiries, please contact:

Bernd Merkl
GENEART AG
Josef-Engert-Str. 11
93053 Regensburg
Germany
Phone: +49-(0)941-942 76-638
Fax: +49-(0)941-942 76-711
ir@geneart.com
www.geneart.com

Frank Ostermair
Better Orange IR & HV AG
Haidelweg 48
81241 Munich
Germany
Phone: +49-(0)89-8896906-10
Fax: +49-(0)89-8896906-66
info@better-orange.de
www.better-orange.de

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company plans and objectives, products or services, future results,
opinions about these results or opinions leading up to these results.
All these projections into the future are subject to risk,
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GENEART Group. Many factors may lead to actual results, which
considerably deviate from the given projections for these results.

About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys is a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on the
generation of fully human antibodies as a means to discover and
develop innovative antibody-based drugs against life-threatening
diseases. MorphoSys's goal is to establish HuCAL as the technology of
choice for antibody generation in research, diagnostics and
therapeutic applications. The Company currently has therapeutic and
research alliances with the majority of the world's largest
pharmaceutical companies including Boehringer Ingelheim,
Centocor/Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche. Within these
partnerships, more than 50 therapeutic antibody programs are ongoing
in which MorphoSys participates through exclusive license and
milestones payments as well as royalties on any end products.
Additionally, MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market
through its AbD Serotec business unit. The business unit has
operations in Germany (Munich), the U.S. (Raleigh, NC) and U.K.
(Oxford). For further information please visit
http://www.morphosys.com/.

About GENEART AG:
In 2000, GENEART entered the gene synthesis market and has since
become the global market leader. Today, the company is one of the
leading specialists in the Synthetic Biology field. Experts at
GENEART provide key technologies for the development and production
of new therapeutics and vaccines. Customers also take advantage of
GENEART services to customize enzyme attributes, such as the
attributes of enzymes used as detergent additives, and to construct
bacteria, which produce complex biopolymers or break down polymers,
such as synthetics, petroleum components, etc. Our production and
service spectrum spans a wide range, from the production of synthetic
genes according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2000, to the creation of gene
libraries in the combinatorial biology, to the development and
production of DNA-based biologically active substances. GENEART AG in
Regensburg (Germany) and the subsidiaries GENEART Inc. in Toronto
(Canada) and GENEART Inc. in San Francisco (USA) employ more than 190
people. GENEART is listed on the German Stock Exchange.

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