BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 5, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micromet, Inc. (Nasdaq:MITI), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases, today announced its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009.

In the third quarter of 2009, Micromet received Orphan Drug Designation from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for its BiTE antibody blinatumomab (MT103) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), closed an $80.5 million public offering of its common stock, announced interim data from the phase 1 dose-escalation clinical trial of its BiTE antibody MT110 at the ECCO/ESMO conference in Berlin, Germany, and appointed Jan Fagerberg, M.D., Ph.D., as its Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. In addition, subsequent to the end of the third quarter, Micromet entered into a new collaboration agreement with sanofi-aventis for the development of a new BiTE antibody against solid tumors, and reacquired all rights to its lead BiTE antibody blinatumomab from MedImmune, LLC.

These developments are further summarized below:

   *  On August 3, Micromet announced that it had received Orphan
      Drug Designation from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for
      its BiTE antibody blinatumomab (MT103) for acute lymphoblastic
      leukemia (ALL).
   *   On August 4, Micromet announced the closing of an $80.5
       million public offering of its common stock, including the
       exercise of the entire underwriters' overallotment option.
       The net proceeds from this offering, after underwriting
       discount and offering expenses payable by Micromet, were
       approximately $75.0 million.
   *   On September 21, Micromet reported interim data at the
       Multidisciplinary Congress of the European Cancer Organisation
       (ECCO) and 34th meeting of the European Society for Medical
       Oncology (ESMO) in Berlin, Germany, from the phase 1 dose-
       escalation clinical trial of its BiTE antibody MT110, the
       first T-cell-engaging antibody for the treatment of patients
       with solid tumors.  MT110 was clinically well tolerated at
       the dose levels presented and dose escalation continues.
   *   On September 22, Micromet announced the appointment of
       Jan Fagerberg, M.D., Ph.D., as Senior Vice President and Chief
       Medical Officer.  Dr. Fagerberg is a board-certified clinical
       oncologist and has more than 20 years of experience in
       clinical research and development of oncology drugs.
   *   On October 29, Micromet announced that it had entered into
       a collaboration and license agreement with sanofi-aventis to
       develop a BiTE antibody against an undisclosed solid tumor
       target.  Under the terms of the agreement, Micromet will be
       responsible for the discovery, research and development of
       the BiTE antibody through the completion of phase 1 clinical
       trials, at which point sanofi-aventis will assume full control
       of the development and commercialization process.  Micromet
       will receive an initial payment of EUR 8.0 million (approximately
       $12 million), and is eligible for development and regulatory
       milestone payments of up to EUR 162 million (approximately $241
       million), plus performance-based sales milestones of up to EUR
       150 million (approximately $224 million) and royalties on
       worldwide product sales.
   *   On November 5, Micromet announced that it has entered into
       an agreement with MedImmune, LLC to buy out MedImmune's option
       to reacquire the right to commercialize blinatumomab in North
       America, and to terminate the collaboration agreement signed
       in 2003 under which MedImmune had been granted the right to
       develop and commericalize blinatumomab in North America.  As a
       result of this termination agreement, Micromet now controls
       global rights to develop and commercialize blinatumomab.
       Micromet will make upfront, milestone, and royalty payments to
       MedImmune related to the development and North American net
       sales of blinatumomab.

"With global rights to blinatumomab, the net proceeds from our recent public offering and the addition of Jan Fagerberg in the role of Chief Medical Officer, Micromet is well positioned to advance blinatumomab into pivotal clinical trials in 2010," stated Christian Itin, Ph.D., President and CEO of Micromet.

Financial Results:

Three Months Ended September 30, 2009

For the three months ended September 30, 2009, Micromet recognized total revenues of $4.0 million, compared to $7.0 million for the same period in 2008. Total operating expenses were $17.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009, which includes a one-time non-cash patent impairment charge of $2.6 million. This compares to total operating expenses of $13.4 million for the same period in 2008.

Loss from operations for the three months ended September 30, 2009 was $13.1 million, compared to a loss from operations of $6.3 million for the same period in 2008.

For the three months ended September 30, 2009, Micromet reported a net loss of $19.9 million, or a loss of $0.32 per basic and diluted common share, compared to a net loss of $12.9 million, or $0.31 per basic and diluted common share for the same period in 2008. The net loss for the three months ending September 30, 2009 includes a non-cash charge of $6.4 million, reflecting an increase during the quarter in the fair value of warrants issued in connection with a private placement transaction in 2007.