Micromet Up On Positive Dendreon Immunotherapeutic Data
Last update: 4/14/2009 3:00:37 PM
By Adam Edelman
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Micromet Inc. (MITI) rose sharply Tuesday after Dendreon Corp. (DNDN), a rival drug-maker, released positive data about a controversial immunotherapy that combats prostate cancer.
Dendreon said Tuesday its prostate cancer treatment Provenge, an immunotherapy, successfully prolonged patient survival, a critical step needed for regulatory approval. The Seattle drug developer didn't provide specific numbers, but said the survival difference successfully surpassed the study's design.
George Farmer, an analyst with Canaccord Adams, said Provenge is the first immunotherapeutic to show a survival benefit in a randomized setting The news sent shares of Micromet, which has several immunotherapies in development, soaring.
Shares of Micromet were recently up 21.5% to $3.50. Meanwhile, Dendreon shares more than tripled in value $22.10 earlier, but recently traded at $16.94, which was still more than twice yesterday's closing price.
"Micromet's products are very different from Dendreon's," Farmer said, "but the new data probably supports the overall concept of immunotherapy."
Micromet representatives weren't immediately available for comment.
Immnotherapy is designed to prime the patient's own immune system to fight a disease, as opposed to chemotherapies or targeted therapies, which function with less discrimination.
Farmer said Micromet is currently developing blinatumomab, an immontherapy designed to treat blood cancers, and MT110, an early-stage immnotherapy to treat solid tumors.
Micromet is expected to present preliminary data at next week's annual American Association for Cancer Research conference, according to Jeff Nelson, an analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co.
Nelson also expects the company to release data in June regarding its immunotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, "and a month or two later they should have solid-tumor data," Nelson said. "Things are getting pretty exciting for the company around now.
In March 2007, a Food and Drug Administration panel endorsed Dendreon's Provenge for approval, but in early May, the FDA declined to approve the treatment without additional clinical data. Since that time, Dendreon has been a controversial name.
-By Adam Edelman, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400; adam.edelman@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2009 15:00 ET (19:00 GMT) |
