Morvus was incorporated in England and Wales on 28th April 2004 by the ex-founders and management of Enact Pharma plc, which was acquired in June 2003 by Protherics plc (acquired by BTG Group plc who were subsequently acquired by Boston Scientific in 2019). In early 2004 the team negotiated a management buy-out from Protherics and raised seed equity investment to establish the Company on the Porton Down Science Park. In July 2007 Morvus relocated to Carmarthen, South Wales, into a purpose-built laboratory facility reaching a headcount of circa 22, including 17 R&D scientists of whom 13 had PhDs, where they remained until August 2012.
In October 2012 Morvus was restructured with a new Board of Directors appointed to manage a shift in direction, away from in-house R&D to outsourcing, the aim being to accelerate monetisation of the products in the Company’s portfolio through licensing or collaboration agreements in which the partner is assigned the IP and commercialisation rights to a product and becomes responsible for forward costs including maintenance of patent, final stage development, clinical trials, regulatory approvals as well as production and marketing. Morvus receives an upfront payment for the grant of license, payment upon the drug reaching pivotal milestones along the critical path, and a royalty on sales. This strategy concentrates on where biotech companies have been successful in the recent past, namely moving drugs as early as possible following discovery to joint venture partnerships, and building on this success while reducing operating costs and ensuring that the Company remains adequately capitalised in the process.