MorphoSys Presents Early Felzartamab Data From Autoimmune Kidney Disease Trial

MorphoSys AG MOR presented interim results from the M-PLACE Phase 1b/2a study with felzartamab at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN).
Felzartamab is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal anti-CD38 antibody that can potentially deplete CD38-positive plasma cells that produce and secrete destructive autoantibodies.
Depleting those plasma cells could be effective in the treatment of anti-PLA2R antibody-positive Membranous Nephropathy (MN).
Of the 27 treated patients with evaluable results, 24 showed an initial rapid reduction of anti-PLA2R antibody levels one week after the first treatment.
After 12 weeks of treatment, most patients showed a substantial reduction in autoantibody titer.
An early assessment of urine protein at six months of treatment showed a decrease in 6 of 10 patients, with four patients having a reduction of more than 50% from baseline.
Primary membranous nephropathy (MN) is a rare autoimmune kidney disease and a leading cause of nephrotic syndrome.
In 2017, MorphoSys entered into an exclusive regional licensing agreement with I-Mab IMAB to develop and commercialize Felzartamab in Greater China.
Price Action: MOR shares are down 1.94% at $11.63 during the market session on the last check Friday.