What happened
Shares of MorphoSys (MOR 0.45%) were up more than 16% Wednesday afternoon after the biopharmaceutical company updated the trials status of the company's lead therapy. The stock is up more than 28% so far this year. The company specializes in therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.
So what
MorphoSys announced that its phase 3 combination study of pelabresib with ruxolitinib to treat myelofibrosis had completed its enrollment earlier than expected. That meant that the top-line data from the study should come by the end of this year instead of in early 2024 as it had said previously. In the study, the combination of pelabresib and ruxolitinb is being tested for efficacy and safety versus ruxolitinib alone. Pelabresib is designed as an anti-tumor agent that inhibits bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) proteins to disrupt the forming of abnormal genes in cancer. Myelofibrosis is a blood cancer where there's a buildup of scar tissue in the bone marrow and can cause anemia and spleen enlargement.
The biotech company also has one other therapy in late-stage trials, large B-cell lymphoma therapy tafasitamab, which is in a phase 2 trial as a combination therapy with Revlimid to treat relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL),
Now what
The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of 81.6 million euros ($89.08 million), up 54% year over year. MorphoSys reported yearly revenue of 278.3 euros ($303.81 million), up 55%. Most of the company's revenue, though, came from royalties and from DLBCL therapy Monjuvi, with $25.3 million in Q4 sales as well as 2022 sales of $89.4 million. However, the company lost 151.9 million euros last year ($161.39 million). The potential to add another therapy is what got investors excited. The company had predicted falling Monjuvi sales and in anticipation of that, the company had said in February that it planned to halt its preclinical programs and trim 17% of its workforce.
