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8-K - MICROMET, INC. | v184041_8k.htm |
Press
Release
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH | ||
Boehringer Ingelheim and Micromet Announce Global
Collaboration for
Multiple Myeloma BiTE Antibody
Ingelheim,
Germany, and
Bethesda, MD, USA, May 5, 2010
-- Boehringer
Ingelheim and Micromet, Inc. (Nasdaq: MITI) announced today
that they have entered into a
collaboration agreement for the research, development and
commercialization of a new BiTE antibody for the treatment of multiple
myeloma.
Despite recent advances in the
treatment of multiple myeloma, the disease remains largely
incurable. While the majority of patients initially respond to
treatment, almost all of these patients will eventually
relapse.
“Multiple myeloma will be an
indication of focus for Micromet and we are very pleased to collaborate
with Boehringer
Ingelheim, an
industry leader with a proven track record of successful partnerships,”
said Christian Itin, Ph.D., Micromet’s President and Chief Executive
Officer. “In line with the strategic importance of hemato-oncology for
Micromet we have retained U.S. co-promotion rights for this product
candidate consistent with our goal of building a commercial hematology
franchise in the United States.”
"We recognize the advantage of
combining Micromet’s BiTE antibody platform with our target identification
and development expertise and we believe that a BiTE antibody has the
potential to address the significant unmet medical need of patients with
multiple myeloma,” said Wolfgang Rettig, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Corporate Research,
Boehringer Ingelheim. “This collaboration builds on the unique strengths
of Micromet and Boehringer Ingelheim."
Micromet
and Boehringer Ingelheim will collaborate on the development of the BiTE
antibody. Micromet is responsible for discovery of the BiTE antibody and
will jointly conduct with Boehringer Ingelheim further pre-clinical
studies. Boehringer Ingelheim is
responsible for all manufacturing activities, clinical development and
worldwide commercialization subject to Micromet’s co-promotion right in
the U.S. Micromet will bear the costs up to a pre-defined amount for its
preclinical activities. During commercialization Micromet will solely bear
the costs for its sales force in the U.S. All other costs for
research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of the BiTE
antibody will be borne by Boehringer Ingelheim.
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CD
Communications
Binger
Straße 173
D-55216
Ingelheim am Rhein
www.boehringer-ingelheim.com
Phone +49
6132 77-xxxx
Fax +49
6132 77-xxxx
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Under
the terms of the agreement Boehringer Ingelheim will
pay Micromet an upfront cash payment of €5 million (approximately $6.6
million). Micromet is eligible to receive development and regulatory
milestone payments of up to €50 million (approximately $66 million) and
tiered low double-digit royalties on product sales outside the U.S. In the
U.S. Micromet and Boehringer Ingelheim will jointly co-promote the BiTE
antibody with commercial terms commensurate with a profit
split.
About
BiTE Antibodies
BiTE®
antibodies are designed to direct the body's cytotoxic, or
cell-destroying, T cells against tumor cells, and represent a new
therapeutic approach to cancer therapy. Typically, antibodies cannot
engage T cells because T cells lack the appropriate receptors for binding
antibodies. BiTE antibodies have been shown to bind T cells to tumor
cells, ultimately inducing a self-destruction process in the tumor cells
referred to as apoptosis or programmed cell death. In the presence of BiTE
antibodies, T cells have been demonstrated to serially eliminate tumor
cells, which explains the activity of BiTE antibodies at very low
concentrations. Through the killing process, T cells start to proliferate,
which leads to an increased number of T cells at the site of
attack.
About Boehringer
Ingelheim
The
Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 15 leading pharmaceutical
companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with
142 affiliates in 50 countries and more than 41,500 employees. Since it
was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to
researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of
high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
In
2009, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 12.7 billion euro while
spending 21% of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription
Medicines on research and development.
For
more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com
About Micromet,
Inc.
Micromet, Inc. is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and
commercialization of antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer.
Its product development pipeline includes novel antibodies generated with
its proprietary BiTE® technology, as well as conventional monoclonal
antibodies. Two of Micromet's BiTE antibodies and three of its
conventional antibodies are currently in clinical trials. Micromet has collaborations with a
number of leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including
sanofi-aventis, Bayer Schering Pharma, Merck Serono, Boehringer Ingelheim, MedImmune and Nycomed. Additional
information can be found at www.micromet-inc.com
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Safe Harbor
Statement
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 operation of the global collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, the
efficacy, safety and intended utilization of our product candidates,
including the BiTE antibody that is the subject of the agreement with
Boehringer Ingelheim, the mode of action of BiTE antibodies, the conduct,
timing and results of future clinical trials, expectations of the future
expansion of our product pipeline and collaborations, and the future
payment of milestone and royalty payments by Boehringer Ingelheim. 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 sanofi-aventis, Merck Serono, Boehringer
Ingelheim, 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, 2009, filed with the SEC
on March 5, 2010, as well as other filings by the company with the
SEC.
Contacts:
Micromet,
Inc.
Jennifer
Neiman
Director,
Corporate Communications
240-235-0246
jennifer.neiman@micromet-inc.com
Boehringer
Ingelheim GmbH
Julia
Meyer-Kleinmann
Director
Corporate Communications
Phone
+49/6132/77 82 71
Fax
+49/6132/77 70 77
press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
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