There is always a debate regarding market efficiency and to what extent stock prices represent the available information about a company. Micromet’s (MITI) surge last week shows that in some cases, the market is far from being efficient. The spike of more than 35% in the last two trading sessions is attributed to the publication of a short article in Science Magazine, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals. The article contained clinical data from an ongoing phase I trial of Micromet’s lead candidate, MT103 (partnered with Medimmune). The data was spectacular, showing a strong, dose dependent response in concert with a good safety profile, exactly the kind of data that can put a small biotech in the spotlight. Ironically, the article contained data which has already been presented more than two months ago at the ICML in Switzerland.

Regardless of whether the market reaction was justified, publishing clinical data at such an early stage in Science should be viewed as an indication for the scientific community’s embrace of Micromet and its BiTE platform. The BiTE platform relies on monoclonal antibodies for stimulating the patient’s immune system to attack cancer cells that have managed to evade or suppress the body’s immune response. Although most attention is given to the first product from the platform, MT103, it can generate an unlimited number of agents against a variety of cancers, making it a potential revolution in the way cancer is treated.

It still remains to be seen whether additional BiTE agents will be as promising as MT103, but examination of the clinical data leads to the conclusion that Micromet now has one of the most exciting technologies in the biotech industry. The BiTE platform represents a truly novel class of anti-cancer agents and is not like anything else out there. It facilitates the construction of bi-specific antibodies that simultaneously bind cancer cells and the body’s most potent immune cells (T cells), leading to a strong, long lasting and escalating immune response against tumors. In the past decades, there have been numerous attempts to create effective bi-specific antibodies, all of which failed. One exception may be a Biotest’s HRS3/A9, which showed promising efficacy but could not be produced in sufficient quantities for further clinical evaluations. The area of bi-specific antibodies has been long abandoned by the antibody industry and MT103 can be seen as the long anticipated breakthrough that overcame most of the hurdles.