BETHESDA, Md., Nov 5, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --
Micromet, Inc. (Nasdaq:MITI), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel,
proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and
autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has signed an agreement with
MedImmune, LLC to buy out MedImmune's rights to blinatumomab in North
America, and to terminate the collaboration agreement signed in 2003 under
which MedImmune had been granted the right to develop and commercialize
blinatumomab in North America. As a result of this transaction, Micromet now
controls global rights to develop and commercialize blinatumomab.
In March 2009, MedImmune returned the North American rights to develop and
commercialize blinatumumab to Micromet, but retained an option to reacquire
the right to commercialize blinatumomab in North America. Under the terms of
the termination agreement, Micromet has now regained MedImmune's remaining
rights relating to blinatumomab as well as any other BiTE antibodies binding
to antigens relevant for hematological cancers that had been reserved for
MedImmune under the terminated agreement. Micromet will make upfront,
milestone, and royalty payments to MedImmune related to the development and
North American net sales of blinatumomab.
"The advancement of blinatumomab in the clinic is the top priority for
Micromet," said Micromet CEO Christian Itin. "With complete control over
global development and commercialization of blinatumomab, Micromet can
develop an integrated clinical and regulatory strategy across multiple
commercial territories, starting with the first pivotal study that we expect
to initiate in 2010."
Blinatumomab is a novel therapeutic antibody that activates a patient's T
cells to seek out and destroy lymphoma and leukemia cells. At the recent
meeting of the European Hematological Association (EHA), Micromet announced
that blinatumomab had achieved its primary endpoint in an ongoing phase 2
clinical trial in ALL patients. Micromet intends to initiate a pivotal trial
of blinatumomab in ALL patients next year. |
