Glossary

A | B | C | E | F | G | H | I | L | M | O | P | Q | R | S | T | W

A

Adenovirus
Certain type of virus. Most infections with adenovirus result in infections of the upper res-piratory tract
Affinity
Binding strength between binding partners, e. g. antibody/antigen
Amyloid-beta
Target molecule in Alzheimer’s disease therapy; main constituent of amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients
Antigen
Foreign substance stimulating antibody production; binding partner of antibody
Antibody
Proteins of the immune system that recognize antigens, thereby triggering an immune response
Antibody library
A collection of genes that encode corresponding human antibodies
Autoimmune disease
Disease caused by an immune response by the body against one of its own tissues, cells or molecules

B

Biomarker
Substance used as an indicator of a biological state. Can be objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention
Biosimilars
Term used to describe officially approved new versions of innovator biopharmaceutical products, following patent expiry

C

Cash flow
Key performance indicator in the cash flow statement used to assess the financial and earning capacity
CD20
Therapeutic target for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias
CDO
Chief Development Officer; executive function within a company
Clinical trial
Clinical trials allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for new drugs or devices. Depending on the type of product and the stage of its development, investigators enroll healthy volunteers and/or patients into small pilot studies initially, followed by larger- scale studies in patients
CMO
Contract manufacturing organization; term used in the pharmaceutical industry for a firm whose expertise lies in manufacturing the biologics for market
COGS
Cost of goods sold; costs for antibody material produced by the AbD segment
Corporate Citizenship
Form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model, which means adhering to laws and complying with certain standards
Corporate Governance
System of relations between the shareholders, Board of Directors and management of a company
Crohn’s disease
An autoimmune disease caused by the immune system attacking the gastrointestinal tract and producing inflammation
Cytokine
A protein that acts as a chemical messenger to stimulate cell migration

E

EMEA
European Medicines Agency
Expression
Conversion of genetic information in a corresponding protein

F

FDA
Food and Drug Administration; US federal agency for the supervision of food and drugs

G

Gene
Part of DNA encoding a defined structure (e. g. a protein) or a function
GM-CSF
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; underlying target molecule of MOR103 program
GMP
Good manufacturing practice; term for the control and management of manufacturing and quality control testing of pharmaceutical products and medical devices
Goodwill
An intangible asset that reflects the value of a company’s name and reputation, its customer relations, and other factors influencing its standing and competitiveness
GRS study
Annual German biotechnology industry remuneration study

H

HGB
German Commercial Code
HuCAL
Human Combinatorial Antibody Library; proprietary antibody library enabling rapid generation of specific human antibodies for all applications
Human
Of human origin

I

IFRS
International Financial Reporting Standards; future EU-wide standards produced by the IASB
IgG
Immunoglobulin G; class of antibody, most abundant immunoglobulin, constituting 75 % of serum immunoglobulins in humans
Immunization
Generation of antibodies by administering antigen
IND
Investigational new drug; application, by which a company files a request with FDA for permission to expose its experimental drug to patients or healthy volunteers in clinical trials
in-vitro
in a test tube
in-vivo
in a living organism

L

Life Sciences
All branches of science that study all organisms, especially living ones

M

Market capitalization
Value of a company’s outstanding shares, as measured by shares times current price
M&A
Mergers and acquisitions
Milestone
Predefined events relating to the development of the substance into a drug
Monoclonal antibody
Homogenous antibody originating from a single clone, produced by hybridoma cell
Multiple myeloma
Type of cancer that develops in a subset of white blood cells called plasma cells formed in the bone marrow
Multiple sclerosis
Disease of the central nervous system characterized by the destruction of nerve fibers

O

Osteoarthritis
A group of diseases and mechanical abnormalities entailing degradation of joints and bones
Osteoporosis
A bone disease that leads to an increased risk of fracture

P

Phage
Abbreviation for bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria
Phage-display technology
Screening technology; presentation of peptides/proteins on surface of phages
Pharmacokinetics
Determination of the fate of substances administered externally to a living organism
Plaque psoriasis
Most common form of psoriasis, a chronic, non-contagious autoimmune disease which affects the skin and joints
PML
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy; rare and potentially fatal viral disease that is characterized by progressive damage or inflammation of the white matter of the brain
Preclinic
Preclinical stage of drug development; tests in animal models as well as in laboratory assays
Protein
Polymer consisting of amino acids, e. g. antibodies and enzymes

Q

QA
Quality assurance; a set of activities intended to ensure that products (goods and/or services) satisfy customer requirements in a systematic, reliable fashion

R

RapMAT
Maturation process; proprietary technology of MorphoSys
R & D
Research and development
Reagent
A substance used in research and diagnostic applications
Recombinant
Formed by (re)combination of parts of one or different starting DNA molecules
Rheumatoid arthritis
Inflammatory disease of the joints; abbreviation: RA
Royalties
Percentage share of ownership of the revenue generated by drug products

S

S, G & A
Sales, general and administrative
Specificity
Property of antibodies, for example, to discriminate between different, but similar, antigens

T

Target
Target molecule for therapeutic intervention, e. g. on surface of diseased cell
TecDAX
Index of the 30 largest technology companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
TNF
Tumor necrosis factor; important cytokine involved in systemic inflammation in RA patients

W

WACC
Weighted average cost of capital; the rate that a company is expected to pay to finance its assets