Study Supports Potential of Micromet's Human Antibody MT203 As Novel Anti-Inflammatory Treatment
Thursday June 15, 2:57 am ET
MÃœNCHEN, GERMANY--(MARKET WIRE)--Jun 15, 2006 --
Carlsbad, CA - June 15, 2006 - Micromet, Inc. (NasdaqNM:MITI - News), a transatlantic biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of antibody-based drugs, reports results of a scientific study1 published in Molecular Immunology. The study describes one of the first human, high-affinity IgG1 antibodies potently neutralizing human GM-CSF. The compound, designated MT203, was generated by Micromet using phage display-guided selection and is currently in preclinical development as a novel treatment for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases including but not limited to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and psoriasis.
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Results from in-vitro studies demonstrate that MT203 binds human GM-CSF with low picomolar affinity and potently prevents GM-CSF-induced proliferation as well as production of the chemokine IL-8. Moreover, the human antibody was observed to significantly reduce both the activation and survival of human eosinophils, which are are involved in the development of a number of inflammatory lung diseases. MT203 retained full neutralizing activity after 5 days in human serum at 37°C.
"We have designed MT203 to meet the highest industry standards for a novel cytokine-neutralizing antibody in terms of validated antibody format, highest potency and stability, lowest possible immunogenicity, and crossreactivity with non-human primates as is required for safety studies," Patrick Baeuerle, Chief Scientific Officer of Micromet, commented. "By neutralizing GM-CSF, we believe we have tapped a novel pharmaceutical target for the potential treatment of patients with inflammatory diseases."
GM-CSF was only recently recognized as a key pro-inflammatory cytokine responsible for the proliferation, activation, and survival of a host of immune cells, which play pivotal roles in the development and progression of inflammatory diseases. A significant benefit of neutralizing GM-CSF has been shown in animal models for RA, MS, COPD, asthma and psoriasis. |
