DENVER, April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Micromet, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases, yesterday presented data at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Denver, Colorado, showing that its BiTE(R) antibody MT110 can eliminate cancer stem cells (1). Cancer stem cells are thought to be responsible for resistance of human cancers to chemotherapy and for metastatic relapse. MT110 is in a phase 1 dose-escalating clinical trial in patients with lung or gastrointestinal cancer.
BiTE antibodies such as MT110 represent a novel class of therapeutic antibodies designed to direct the body’s cell-destroying T cells against tumor cells. MT110 recognizes cancer cells expressing the epithelial cell adhesion molecule, or EpCAM, a target antigen that is highly and frequently expressed on the surface of many types of solid tumors. EpCAM also has been shown to be expressed on cancer stem cells (2) and to promote tumor formation (3). The data presented at AACR show that the BiTE antibody MT110 can direct T cells to eliminate EpCAM-expressing human colorectal cancer stem cells in cell culture. In addition, data from a study of MT110 in mice showed that the BiTE antibody eliminated even large numbers of implanted cancer stem cells, resulting in a complete inhibition of tumor growth and survival, while untreated animals with implanted cancer stem cells experienced tumor formation and death.
“We are excited to see how potently MT110 can act against highly aggressive colorectal cancer stem cells,” commented Patrick Baeuerle, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Micromet. “Our new findings are encouraging for the ongoing clinical development of MT110.”
(1)Muenz, M. et al. Eradication of colon cancer stem cells by EpCAM/CD3-bispecific BiTE antibody MT110. AACR Annual Meeting 2009, abstract no. 3250
(2)Visvader, J.E. and Lindeman, G.J., Nat. Rev. Cancer 9: 755-768 (2009)
(3)Maetzel, D. et al., Nat. Cell Biol. 11: 62-171 (2009)
About Micromet
Micromet, Inc. (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(R) 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 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’s second BiTE antibody in clinical development is MT110, which targets the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM). The Company owns all rights to MT110, 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, 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 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. Micromet has granted an exclusive option to Bayer Schering Pharma AG to license a BiTE antibody against an undisclosed solid tumor target. 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 MT110. 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, 2008, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2009, 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; or European Media: Ludger Wess, +49 (40) 8816
5964, ludger@akampion.com; or US Investors: Susan Noonan, +1-212-966-3650,
susan@sanoonan.com; or European Investors: Ines-Regina Buth, +49 (30) 2363
2768, ines@akampion.com
Web site: http://www.micromet-inc.com/
