Morphosys Receives Payment in Antibody Alliance with Novartis

Martinsried/Munich, Germany, May 5th, 2009

- MorphoSys AG announced today that it has received a milestone payment from its collaboration with Novartis. The payment was triggered by Novartis filing of the necessary documentation to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial with a HuCAL-derived fully human antibody.  This is the second HuCAL antibody to enter clinical trials within MorphoSys's alliance with Novartis.

"Our partnered pipeline is a core asset that is a key driver of the Company's value," commented Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. "Our alliance with Novartis is developing well and we are delighted to see this second program advance into Phase 1 clinical trials. These two programs in the clinic illustrate the progress we've made, but are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the value that the Novartis alliance brings to MorphoSys."

In December 2007, MorphoSys and Novartis forged one of the industry's most comprehensive strategic alliances in the discovery and development of biopharmaceuticals. Financial terms include committed payments in excess of US 600 million over the lifetime of the agreement.

This is the sixth HuCAL-based antibody to advance into clinical development. MorphoSys anticipates that in 2009, between two and four partnered programs will enter clinical trials. With regard to its proprietary pipeline, the Company expects to commence a Phase 1b/2a trial of its proprietary program MOR103 in the second half of this year. By the end of 2009 the Company expects its partnered and proprietary pipeline to comprise up to eight compounds in clinical trials, thereof at least three antibodies in phase 2 studies.

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/

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the MorphoSys group of companies. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of MorphoSys as of the date of this release and involve risks and uncertainties. Should actual conditions differ from the Company's assumptions, actual results and actions may differ from those anticipated. MorphoSys does not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements as far as the wording of the relevant press release is concerned.