PLANEGG/MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - The drug researcher Morphosys, which is about to be taken over by Novartis, slipped deeper into the red again last year. High research costs, lower financial income and a decline in sales resulted in a bottom-line loss of just under 190 million euros, as the SDax company announced on Wednesday evening in Planegg near Munich. A year earlier, the loss had amounted to a good 151 million euros.

In 2022, however, the Bavarians had benefited from high license income from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which was missing last year. At 238.3 million euros, revenue in 2023 was therefore 14% below the previous year's figure. This time, Morphosys reported an operating loss of 252.5 million euros - after a loss of just under 221 million a year earlier. This means that the Group performed better than analysts had feared on average.

On the stock market, however, the figures are likely to be only a minor matter, as Morphosys will probably soon be taken over by Novartis. Initial antitrust approvals have been received from Germany and Austria, while the companies in the USA are still waiting for the green light. "The takeover process is progressing steadily and we expect the planned transaction to be completed in the first half of the year," said Morphosys CEO Jean-Paul Kress according to the press release. This would not change the current timetable./tav/stw/jha/