Micromet's blinatumomab shows promise in Phase I

It may be an early-stage study, but Micromet's antibody drug blinatumomab is showing promise for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients. In a Phase I study, all seven participants responded to the drug, demonstrating tumor regression and in some cases, complete remission. "We observed tumor regression in patients at serum levels of blinatumomab, which are approximately five orders of magnitude lower than serum levels needed by conventional monoclonal antibodies for achieving a tumor regression in this disease," said Micromet's CSO Patrick Baeuerle.

Blinatumomab is an antibody therapy that activates a patient's T cells to seek out and destroy cancer cells. Micromet has an additional blinatumomab trial in the clinic--a Phase II trial for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The company is developing blinatumomab with MedImmune, which was bought out by AstraZeneca in 2007. The study was published in the journal Science

- read Micromet's release [1]

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