Amgen to Buy Micromet for $1.16 Billion
Amgen and Micromet, Inc. recently announced the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amgen will acquire Micromet, a biotechnology company founded in
The acquisition includes blinatumomab, a Bispecific T cell Engager (BiTE) antibody in Phase II clinical development for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is also in clinical development for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), and could have applications in other hematologic malignancies.
“The acquisition of Micromet is an opportunity to acquire an innovative oncology asset with global rights and a validated technology platform with broad potential clinical applications,” said Kevin Sharer, Chairman and CEO at Amgen. “Blinatumomab will serve as an important complement to our oncology pipeline and is representative of our corporate strategy, which is focused on developing and successfully commercializing therapeutics to treat patients with grievous illness.”
“We believe this transaction represents an attractive opportunity for Micromet, its stockholders, and cancer patients,” said Christian Itin, PhD, Micromet’s President and CEO. “Amgen’s extensive resources and experience in the development and commercialization of biologics promise to speed blinatumomab’s path to market, expand its development across a broader range of B-cell malignancies, and maximize the full potential of our novel BiTE technology.”
Blinatumomab is a Bispecific T cell Engager (BiTE antibody) designed to direct a patient’s cytotoxic T cells to eliminate cancer cells that express CD19. CD19 is a protein expressed on the surface of B-lymphocytes including acute lymphoblastic leukemias and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. Data on blinatumomab demonstrating a high complete remission rate in adult patients with relapsed/refractory B-precursor ALL was recently reported at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, held in December 2011.
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 killing the tumor cells.
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