Micromet to Present Interim Data from Two Studies for T Cell Engaging BiTE Antibody Blinatumomab at American Society of Hematolo
November 13 2008 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Micromet, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MITI), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel,
proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation
and autoimmune diseases, today announced that two studies on its T
cell engaging BiTE antibody Blinatumomab will be presented at the
50th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held
December 6-9 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. On
Sunday, December 7 a poster presentation, "Treatment with Anti-CD19
BiTE Antibody Blinatumomab (MT103 /MEDI-538) Is Able to Eliminate
Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) in Patients with B-Precursor Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): First Results of An Ongoing Phase II
Study" will be presented from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. PDT in Hall A,
poster board number II-20. On Monday, December 8, an oral
presentation by Dr. Ralf Bargou of the University of Wurzburg
titled, "Sustained Response Duration seen after Treatment with
Single Agent Blinatumomab (MT103/MEDI-538) in the Ongoing Phase I
Study MT103-104 in Patients with Relapsed NHL" will be presented at
8:15 a.m. PDT in room 2005-2007-2018-2020 - West. About BiTE
Antibodies BiTE(R) antibodies are designed to direct the body's
cytotoxic, or cell- destroying, T cells against tumor cells, and
represent a new therapeutic approach to cancer therapy. Typically
antibodies cannot engage T cells because T cells lack the
appropriate receptors for binding antibodies. Previous attempts
have shown the potential of T cells to treat cancer, but the
therapeutic approaches tested to date have been hampered by cancer
cells' ability to escape recognition by T cells. The use of BiTE
antibodies that are specifically designed to engage T cells for
attacking cancer cells may provide an effective anti-tumor
approach. About Micromet, Inc. Micromet, Inc.
(http://www.micromet-inc.com/) is a biopharmaceutical company with
offices in Bethesda, MD and Munich, Germany. The Company is focused
on developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of
cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The Company's novel
antibody technology is based on its proprietary BiTE antibody
platform, representing a new class of antibodies that specifically
activate T cells from the patient's own immune system to eliminate
cancer cells or other disease related cells. Four of the Company's
antibodies are currently in clinical trials, with the remainder of
its product pipeline in preclinical development. The Company's lead
program is a BiTE(R) antibody known as blinatumomab, or MT103. It
is in a phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with
acute lymphoblastic leukemia and a phase 1 clinical trial for the
treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Micromet is
developing blinatumomab in collaboration with MedImmune, LLC, a
subsidiary of AstraZeneca plc. Micromet's second BiTE antibody in
clinical development is MT110, which targets the epithelial cell
adhesion molecule (EpCAM). The Company owns all rights MT 110,
which is currently in a phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of
patients with solid tumors. The Company's third clinical stage
antibody is adecatumumab, also known as MT201, a traditional human
monoclonal antibody that targets 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. Micromet licensed a fourth clinical stage
antibody, MT 293, to TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MT 293 is being
developed in a phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of patients
with cancer. The Company's preclinical programs include MT 203
being developed in collaboration with Nycomed. MT 203 is a
traditional human antibody neutralizing the activity of
granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which
has potential applications in the treatment of inflammatory and
autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or
multiple sclerosis. Additional BiTE antibodies, targeting CEA,
CD33, Her2, EGFR and MCSP, respectively, are in different stages of
preclinical development. 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 or
Chris Stamm +1-781-684-0770, , or US Investors: Susan Noonan,
+1-212-966-3650, or European Media: Ludger Wess +49-40-8816-5964,
or European Investors: Ines-Regina Buth, +49-30-2363-2768, Web
Site: http://www.micromet-inc.com/
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