Micromet Presents Data at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer on the Activity
November 04 2008 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Micromet, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MITI), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel,
proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation
and autoimmune diseases, presented data from a preclinical study(1)
showing cytotoxic activity of anti-EpCAM antibody adecatumumab
(MT201) against KRAS-mutated human colon cancer cells on November
1, 2008 at the 23rd Annual meeting of the International Society for
Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) , taking place October
31-November 2, 2008 in San Diego, California. The new preclinical
data indicated that human colon cancer cells are efficiently
eliminated in tested cell lines by adecatumumab, mediated by
antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), irrespective of
their KRAS mutation status. Recent studies suggest that anti-EGFR
antibodies cetuximab (Erbitux(R); ImClone, BMS, Merck KGaA) and
panitumumab (Vectibix(R); Amgen) are beneficial for patients with
KRAS wild-type tumors, however, show limited or no efficacy in the
treatment of colon cancer patients with a mutated KRAS oncogene in
their cancer cells. These findings recently led to the approval of
cetuximab for first-line therapy in patients with KRAS wild-type
tumors. As a consequence, there is a high need for the development
of treatment strategies covering those patients who are not able to
benefit from this important new treatment option as their tumors
carry the KRAS mutated gene. This mutation is found in
approximately 35 to 40 percent of patients with this disease.
"Given that more than 95 percent of colon cancer patients strongly
express EpCAM on their tumors, and that 35 to 40 percent of
patients who have a KRAS mutant tumor may not benefit from
treatment with anti-EGFR antibodies, adecatumumab could be
investigated as a potential alternative for the treatment of KRAS
mutant colon cancer tumors," commented Patrick Baeuerle, senior
vice president and chief scientific officer for Micromet. "In the
near future, Micromet will initiate a phase 2 study investigating
the activity of adecatumumab in colon cancer patients with
completely resected liver metastases." (1) ADCC-mediated Lysis of
KRAS-mutated Colon Cancer Cells by Anti-EpCAM Antibody
Adecatumumab. D. Ruttinger et al. 23rd annual meeting of iSBTc, San
Diego Nov. 1st (2008; abstract About iSBTc The International
Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) is a 501 (c)(3)
non-profit society of medical professionals. Since its inception in
1984, the International Society for Biological Therapy has
implemented several high-caliber scientific meetings with a focus
on basic, clinical and translational aspects of the biological
therapy of cancer. iSBTc has since come to be known as the premier
venue for scientific exchange by investigators in the oncology
biologics community, including members from academia, industry and
regulatory agencies from the U.S. and abroad. The Society has now
expanded its efforts to promote international scientific exchange
by investigators through several new initiatives and collaborative
efforts (http://www.isbtc.org/). About Micromet, Inc. Micromet,
Inc. (http://www.micromet-inc.com/) is a biopharmaceutical company
developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of
cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Four of its
antibodies are currently in clinical trials, while the remainder of
the product pipeline is in preclinical development. The BiTE(R)
antibody blinatumomab (MT103/MEDI-538) is in a phase 2 clinical
trial for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic
leukemia and in a phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of
patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. BiTE antibodies represent a
new class of antibodies that activate a patient's own cytotoxic T
cells, considered the most powerful "killer cells" of the human
immune system, to eliminate cancer cells. Micromet is developing
blinatumomab in collaboration with MedImmune, Inc., a subsidiary of
AstraZeneca plc. MT110 is the second BiTE antibody in clinical
trials, and is being developed by Micromet in a phase 1 clinical
trial for the treatment of patients with lung or gastrointestinal
cancer. The third clinical stage antibody is adecatumumab, also
known as MT201, a human monoclonal antibody that targets epithelial
cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)-expressing solid tumors. Micromet is
developing adecatumumab in collaboration with Merck Serono in a
phase 1b clinical trial evaluating adecatumumab in combination with
docetaxel for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast
cancer. The fourth clinical stage antibody is MT293 which is
licensed to TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and is being developed in
a phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with cancer.
Three additional BiTE antibodies, targeting CD33, CEA and MCSP,
respectively, are in preclinical development. In addition, Micromet
has established a collaboration with Nycomed for the development
and commercialization of MT203, a human antibody neutralizing the
activity of granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor
(GM-CSF), which has potential applications in the treatment of
various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid
arthritis, psoriasis, or multiple sclerosis. Forward-Looking
Statements This release contains certain forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to be materially different from historical results or from
any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include statements
regarding the efficacy, safety and intended utilization of our
product candidates, the development of our BiTE antibody
technology, the conduct, timing and results of future clinical
trials, expectations of the future expansion of our product
pipeline and collaborations, and our plans regarding future
presentations of clinical data. You are urged to consider
statements that include the words "ongoing," "may," "will,"
"believes," "potential," "expects," "plans," "anticipates,"
"intends," or the negative of those words or other similar words to
be uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that may cause actual
results to differ materially from any future results expressed or
implied by any forward-looking statements include the risk that
product candidates that appeared promising in early research,
preclinical studies or clinical trials do not demonstrate safety
and/or efficacy in subsequent clinical trials, the risk that
encouraging results from early research, preclinical studies or
clinical trials may not be confirmed upon further analysis of the
detailed results of such research, preclinical study or clinical
trial, the risk that additional information relating to the safety,
efficacy or tolerability of our product candidates may be
discovered upon further analysis of preclinical or clinical trial
data, the risk that we or our collaborators will not obtain
approval to market our product candidates, the risks associated
with reliance on outside financing to meet capital requirements,
and the risks associated with reliance on collaborators, including
MedImmune, Merck Serono, TRACON and Nycomed, for the funding or
conduct of further development and commercialization activities
relating to our product candidates. These factors and others are
more fully discussed in Micromet's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the SEC on
March 14, 2008, as well as other filings by the company with the
SEC. Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and, as such,
speak only as of the date made. Micromet, Inc. undertakes no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
DATASOURCE: Micromet, Inc. CONTACT: US Media: Andrea tenBroek of
Micromet, Inc., +1-781-684-0770, or European Media: Chris
StammLudger Wess, +49-(40)-8816-5964, , or US Investor: Susan
Noonan, +1-212-966-3650, or European Investor: Ines-Regina Buth,
+49-30-2363-2768, Web Site: http://www.micromet-inc.com/
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