Morphosys to slash early drug research programmes to preserve cash

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German biotech firm Morphosys said it would stop its work on drug candidates that have not yet been tested on humans after its 2023 revenue prospects worsened.

In a statement on Thursday, Morphosys added it would reduce its workforce at the company’s headquarters in Planegg, Germany, by approximately 17% as a result of the cutback.

Morphosys in January lowered its 2023 sales target for its most important drug, Monjuvi against a certain type of lymphoma, raising concerns among analysts about its ability to fund its research and development activities.

Its shares plunged in November after Roche's Alzheimer's drug candidate, in which Morphosys held certain rights, failed to slow dementia progression in key trials.

"Given the challenging market we are operating in, we need to continue to concentrate our investments on our most-advanced clinical programs that will have the greatest and most immediate impact on patients’ lives,” said Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Kress.

Morphosys added it would explore other options for its pre-clinical research programmes.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Rachel More)