Micromet Added to Russell 3000 Index
30 June 2009 - 1:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
BETHESDA, Md., June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Micromet, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MITI), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel,
proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation
and autoimmune diseases, today announced that it was added to the
Russell 3000 Index as part of the annual reconstitution of the
Russell indexes, which occurred on June 26, 2009. "Investors
recognize the Russell 3000 as an established benchmark for tracking
investment performance, market movements and market trends. We are
pleased that Micromet has been added to the Russell 3000 Index and
expect that it will increase our visibility in the investment
community," said Buck Phillips, Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer of Micromet. Annual reconstitution of Russell's
U.S. indexes captures the largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May,
determined by total market capitalization. Russell determines
membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective,
market-capitalization rankings and style attributes. The Russell
3000 also serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index,
which Russell launched in 2007. Russell indexes are widely used by
investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and
as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. An
industry-leading $4 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to
the Russell indexes. These investment tools originated from
Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when
the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of
benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers. Total
returns data for the Russell 3000 and other Russell indexes is
available at
http://www.russell.com/Indexes/performance/default.asp. About
Micromet, Inc. Micromet, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company
developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of
cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Its product
development pipeline includes novel antibodies generated with its
proprietary BiTE(R) antibody platform, as well as conventional
monoclonal antibodies. BiTE antibodies represent a new class of
antibodies that activate the T cells of a patient's immune system
to eliminate cancer cells. Five of Micromet's antibodies are
currently in clinical trials. Its BiTE antibody blinatumomab
(MT103) is in a phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of
patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and in a phase 1
clinical trial for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma (NHL). A second BiTE antibody, MT110, is in a phase 1
clinical trial for the treatment of patients with solid tumors.
MT110 binds to the epithelial cell adhesion molecule, or EpCAM,
which is overexpressed in many solid tumors. Micromet's human
monoclonal antibody adecatumumab (MT201) also binds to EpCAM and is
being developed under a collaboration with Merck Serono.
Adecatumomab is in a phase 2 clinical trial in colorectal carcinoma
patients after complete resection of liver metastases, and a phase
1b clinical trial evaluating adecatumumab in combination with
docetaxel for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast
cancer. Micromet's monoclonal antibody MT293, also known as TRC093,
is licensed to TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and is in a phase 1
clinical trial for the treatment of patients with cancer. MT203, a
human antibody neutralizing the activity of granulocyte/macrophage
colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which has potential
applications in the treatment of various inflammatory and
autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or
multiple sclerosis, is in a phase 1 clinical trial conducted by
Micromet's collaboration partner Nycomed. Micromet's licensee
Morphotek, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai, is also expected to
initiate a first phase 1 clinical trial with Micromet's
glycolipid-binding human antibody MT228 for the treatment of
melanoma. Micromet's preclinical product pipeline includes several
novel BiTE antibodies generated with its proprietary BiTE antibody
platform technology. A BiTE antibody targeting CEA for the
treatment of solid tumors is being developed in collaboration with
MedImmune. In addition, Micromet has entered into an option,
collaboration and license agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma AG
under which Bayer Schering Pharma was granted an exclusive option
to license a specified BiTE antibody against an undisclosed solid
tumor target. Other BiTE antibodies targeting MSCP, CD33, HER2,
EGFR and other targets are in various stages of preclinical
development. Forward-Looking Statements 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
efficacy, safety and intended utilization of our product
candidates, the conduct, timing and results of future clinical
trials, and expectations of the future expansion of our product
pipeline and collaborations. 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 MedImmune, Merck Serono,
TRACON 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2009, filed with the SEC on May 11,
2009, as well as other filings by the company with the SEC.
DATASOURCE: Micromet, Inc. CONTACT: US Media, Andrea tenBroek, or
Chris Stamm, +1-781-684-0770, ; or US Investors, Susan Noonan,
+1-212-966-3650, ; or European Media, Ludger Wess,
+49(40)8816-5964, ; or European Investors, Ines-Regina Buth,
+49(30)2363-2768, Web Site: http://www.micromet-inc.com/
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