EXTON, Pa., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Morphotek®, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. for development and commercialization of an antibody that targets a tumor-associated antigen over-expressed in many solid tumors.

Under the terms of the agreement, Morphotek has been granted an exclusive worldwide license for the development, manufacture and sale of the antibody. Financial terms were not disclosed. Preclinical studies, conducted by Centocor Ortho Biotech, have shown that the relevant antigen is over-expressed in many solid tumors.

"We are delighted to conclude this license agreement with Centocor Ortho Biotech as we are committed to bringing healthcare solutions to cancer patients, especially for areas of unmet medical need," said Philip Sass, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Morphotek. "Morphotek is well positioned to apply its technologies, knowledge and expertise in monoclonal antibody development for the development and commercialization of this antibody. The preclinical data package for this antibody have shown anti-cancer effects and we look forward to validating these in human trials."

About Morphotek

Morphotek®, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of protein and antibody products through the use of novel and proprietary technologies. The technologies have been successfully applied to a variety of molecules that are suitable for pharmaceutical product development in the areas of antibody therapeutics, protein therapeutics, product manufacturing, drug target discovery, and improved output traits for commercial applications. The company is currently focusing its platform on the development and manufacturing of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and infectious disease. For more information, please visit www.morphotek.com.

Eisai Inc.

Eisai Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai Corporation of North America. Established in 1995 and ranked among the top-20 U.S. pharmaceutical companies (based on retail sales), the company began marketing its first product in the United States in 1997 and has rapidly grown to become a fully-integrated pharmaceutical business with fiscal year 2008 (year ended March 31, 2009) sales of approximately $3.7 billion. Eisai Inc.'s areas of commercial focus include neurology, gastrointestinal disorders and oncology/critical care. The company serves as the U.S. pharmaceutical operation of Eisai Co., Ltd., a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, Eisai Inc. has several R&D facilities in Massachusetts, New Jersey and North Carolina, as well as manufacturing facilities in Maryland and North Carolina. For more information about Eisai, please visit www.eisai.com.

*On October 1, 2009, Eisai Research Institute of Boston, Inc. (established in 1987) and Eisai Medical Research Inc. (established in 2002) were merged into Eisai Inc.

SOURCE Morphotek(R), Inc.