PLANEGG/MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - The drug researcher Morphosys suffered a sharp drop in sales in the third quarter. This was due to a sharp drop in license revenues, the SDax-listed company announced late Wednesday evening in Planegg near Munich. This resulted in an even greater loss in day-to-day business than in the previous year. Meanwhile, the publication of the study results for the important hopeful Pelabresib is approaching. The data on the cancer drug is now expected by the end of November and will therefore come a little earlier than expected. The share price rose by five percent in after-hours US trading, although it had previously closed seven percent lower.

In the three reporting months from July to September, Morphosys reported that revenue fell by around a third to 63.8 million euros compared to the same period in the previous year. In the previous year, however, the company had benefited from a special effect from a license agreement with the US group Human Immunology Biosciences.

The operating result reached minus 51 million euros in the past quarter - a year earlier, the company had reported minus 29.3 million euros. Morphosys has been in the red for some time due to high research costs. However, the net loss fell slightly to 119.6 million euros, mainly due to lower expenses in the financial result. The market had expected even worse results for turnover and operating profit, but analysts had expected the consolidated loss to be much lower.

The Management Board headed by Group CEO Jean-Paul Kress also confirmed the forecasts. Only recently, the management had raised the sales target for its most important product due to good business with the blood cancer drug Monjuvi. Net product sales are therefore expected to be between 85 and 95 million dollars this year.

In the reporting period, the Bavarians achieved sales of 23.4 million dollars with the drug - as has been known since the end of October. Morphosys reports Monjuvi product sales in US dollars, as it only holds the distribution rights for the local market. The Group shares these with the US company Incyte.

However, investors in the market are likely to be more interested in the upcoming evaluation of the study data on pelabresib than the figures. Morphosys had bet everything on this active ingredient with the costly acquisition of US cancer specialist Constellation Pharmaceuticals in 2021 for around 1.7 billion dollars. The team led by CEO Jean-Paul Kress hopes to establish pelabresib as a first-line treatment for patients with myeolofibrosis despite increasing competition. This is a rare blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow.

Over the past two years, Morphosys has subordinated everything to the hope of a breakthrough with pelabresib. Due to the high costs, several other research projects were discontinued and jobs were also cut. With the tailwind of an approval, the company should be able to make a profit again in the future.

In the study currently awaiting publication, the drug is being investigated as a first-line therapy. According to earlier information from Morphosys, the results to date indicate that the drug can restore the balance of the defective formation of various types of white blood cells in the disease.

The most important success of the treatment is measured by a significant reduction in spleen volume; in the case of the Morphosys study, more than 35 percent is required. In addition, the so-called "secondary endpoint" of the clinical tests focuses on the reduction of symptoms. These include severe fatigue, fever and weight loss.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already granted the drug "fast-track status", which means it has the prospect of an accelerated approval process. The authority grants this status for serious or life-threatening diseases where there is an urgent need for new therapies.