Pre-clinical data of BiTE antibody technology published in PNAS

Micromet, Inc. (Nasdaq: MITI), today announced the publication of pre-clinical data in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), demonstrating the potency of new product candidates based on the Company's proprietary BiTE® antibody technology. BiTE antibodies are a new class of agents designed to harness a patient's T cells to kill cancer cells.

Results published in PNAS characterize new BiTE antibodies generated to target epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR), a protein expressed on the surface of most solid tumors.  An EGFR-directed BiTE antibody based on cetuximab demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity against cetuximab-resistant tumors in animal models. Unlike the monoclonal antibody cetuximab, the cetuximab-based BiTE antibody did not show evidence of skin toxicity usually attributed to anti-EGFR therapies.

"Our latest results demonstrate the potential of BiTE antibodies to overcome the limitations of conventional antibodies and illustrate the breadth and broad applicability of our next-generation antibody technology," said Patrick Baeuerle, Ph.D., Micromet's Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer.