BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Micromet, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases, provides an outlook on key events anticipated for the year 2009.
Micromet intends to provide an update on its research and development programs at the following events:
-- April 12 to 16, 2009: Update on several preclinical BiTE antibodies at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Denver, CO;
-- April 24, 2009: The company will hold an R&D meeting in New York, NY for investors and analysts to provide a review of its product pipeline;
-- May 29 to June 5, 2009: Update on a phase 1b clinical trial combining adecatumumab with docetaxel in late stage metastatic breast cancer patients at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in San Francisco, CA;
-- June 4 to 7, 2009: Update on phase 2 clinical trial with blinatumomab in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients at the 14th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in Berlin, Germany;
-- September 20 to 24, 2009: First interim data from a phase 1 clinical trial with MT110, an EpCAM-targeting BiTE antibody, in patients with metastatic gastro-intestinal and lung cancers at the joint 15th Congress of the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) and 34th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Berlin, Germany;
-- December 5 to 8, 2009: Update on a phase 2 clinical trial with blinatumomab in ALL patients and final results from a phase 1 clinical trial in late stage NHL at the annual meeting of the American Society for Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans, LA.
Additional expected milestones in 2009:
-- Adecatumumab, an EpCAM-targeting human monoclonal antibody in development with Merck-Serono is expected to start a randomized, controlled, multicenter phase 2 clinical trial in relapsed colorectal cancer patients after complete resection of liver metastasis in Q1 2009;
-- Blinatumomab, a CD19-targeting BiTE antibody in development with MedImmune, is expected to start an additional phase 2 clinical trial in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) towards the end of 2009;
-- MT203, a GM-CSF neutralizing human monoclonal antibody in development with Nycomed for the treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, is expected to start a first clinical phase 1 trial in mid 2009;
-- MT228, a glycolipid binding human antibody in development by Eisai for the treatment of melanoma, is expected to start a first phase 1 clinical trial in 2009;
-- MT293, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting denatured collagen, in development by Tracon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the treatment of solid tumors is expected to complete a clinical phase 1 trial.
Micromet intends to publish results from the research and development of its programs in peer-reviewed scientific and clinical journals throughout the year. Micromet also intends to enter into one to two new collaborations with corporate partners in 2009.
Our next formal company presentation will be at the BIO CEO Conference February 9 and 10, 2009, in New York, NY.
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 a more effective anti-tumor approach than conventional monoclonal antibodies.
About Micromet, Inc.
Micromet, Inc. (www.micromet-inc.com) is a biopharmaceutical company with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Munich, Germany. The Company is developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The Company uses its proprietary BiTE(R) antibody platform to create 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 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, 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 to 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 conventional 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 has licensed a fourth clinical stage antibody, MT293, to TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MT293 is being developed in a phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with cancer. The Company’s preclinical programs include MT203, which is being developed in collaboration with Nycomed. MT203 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 and intended utilization of our product candidates and the development of our BiTE antibody technology. You are urged to consider statements that include the words “may,” “potential,” 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, and 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. These factors and others are more fully discussed in Micromet’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2008, filed with the SEC on November 6, 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.
CONTACT: US Media: Andrea tenBroek or Chris Stamm, +1-781-684-0770,
micromet@schwartz-pr.com; European Media: Ludger Wess, +49-40-8816-5964,
ludger@akampion.com; US Investors: Susan Noonan, +1-212-966-3650,
susan@sanoonan.com; European Investors: Ines-Regina Buth, +49-30-2363-2768,
ines@akampion.com, all for Micromet, Inc.
Web site: http://www.micromet-inc.com/
