PLANEGG (dpa-AFX) - After an unexpectedly strong final quarter of 2022, biotech company Morphosys has also performed better than the market thought at the start of the year. The Bavarian company's first-quarter sales climbed by a good half year-on-year to 62.3 million euros, the SDax-listed company announced late Wednesday evening in Planegg. This was significantly more than analysts had expected - they also had a worse result on the cards, both in the day-to-day business and on the bottom line.

Morphosys benefited in the three reporting months to the end of March from, among other things, brisker business with its blood cancer drug Monjuvi. This flushed $20.8 million (19.4 million euros) into the group's coffers, compared with $18.7 million a year earlier. The Group reports the sales generated in the USA in concrete terms, as it has transferred the marketing rights outside the United States to its partner Incyte - royalties are then paid for this, which amounted to 0.7 million in the reporting period.

On the earnings side, Morphosys remains in the red. Although distribution costs fell in the past quarter, the company spent over a quarter more on research and development than in the previous year. Additional costs for important studies on Monjuvi and the cancer drug Pelabresib had an impact. The operating loss thus increased slightly to 69.5 million euros (previous year: minus 68 million euros). However, analysts had expected a worse operating result - with far lower sales at the same time.

Below the line, Morphosys was able to reduce its net loss by around two-thirds to 44.4 million euros. The key factor was higher financial income, resulting from the revaluation of liabilities within the Group's collaborations.

The Management Board confirmed its forecast for the year, according to which the management team led by company director Jean-Paul Kress continues not to rule out a decline in sales of Monjuvi this year. The drug suffers from competitive pressure, which is why Morphosys pushed the search for new sources of revenue in the past. In 2021, Morphosys had then acquired the U.S. biotech company Constellation Pharmaceuticals for about $1.7 billion.

As a result, the Bavarians had brought another hopeful candidate into the company alongside Monjuvi in the form of pelabresib. At present, the SDax company is concentrating fully on its research into both drugs. However, as the studies devour plenty of money, the group announced in March that it was discontinuing its preclinical research programs and cutting around 70 jobs at its headquarters.

In the medium term, Morphosys hopes to return to the black, thanks in part to a hoped-for approval for pelabresib. The company has recently made faster progress in recruiting patients for the ongoing pivotal trial. Research results are now expected by the end of 2023, as Morphosys announced in early April. The drug is being tested in myelofibrosis. Myelofibrosis is a form of blood cancer that is difficult to treat and leads, among other things, to bone marrow fibrosis, enlargement of the spleen and a reduction in the number of red blood cells (anemia)./tav/jsl/he