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. Micromet recorded a $6.8 million non-cash charge for this item in the third quarter of 2008.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2009

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, Micromet recognized total revenues of $16.4 million, compared to $21.4 million for the same period in 2008. Total operating expenses were $42.1 million for the nine 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 $41.0 million for the same period in 2008.

Loss from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 was $25.7 million, compared to a loss from operations of $19.6 million for the same period in 2008.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, Micromet reported a net loss of $34.2 million, or a loss of $0.62 per basic and diluted common share, compared to a net loss of $27.4 million, or $0.67 per basic and diluted common share, for the same period in 2008. The net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 includes a non-cash charge of $8.2 million, reflecting an increase during the period in the fair value of warrants issued in connection with a private placement transaction in 2007, in addition to the $2.6 million patent impairment charge. Micromet recorded an $8.5 million non-cash charge for the change in the fair value of the warrants in the first nine months of 2008.

Net cash used in operating activities was $13.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 compared to $8.7 million used in operating activities for the same period in 2008. Net cash used in investing activities was $12.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 compared to $0.4 million used in investing activities for the same period in 2008. Net cash provided by financing activities was $78.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, primarily the result of a public offering of common stock during the third quarter of 2009, and two draw downs from our committed equity financing facility with Kingsbridge Capital Limited during the second quarter of 2009.

Micromet's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $114.4 million as of September 30, 2009.

Conference Call and Audio Webcast Today, November 5, 2009, at 9:00 am Eastern Time

To participate in this conference call, dial 866-730-5770 (U.S.) or 857-350-1594 (international), passcode: 56008602. The audio webcast can be accessed at www.micromet-inc.com. A replay of the call will be available from 12:00 pm Eastern Time on November 5, 2009 (6:00 pm Central European Time) through November 12, 2009. The replay number is 888-286-8010 (U.S.) or 617-801-6888 (international), passcode: 59290657.

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. Two of Micromet's BiTE antibodies and three of its conventional antibodies are currently in clinical trials. Micromet's preclinical product pipeline includes several novel BiTE antibodies generated with its proprietary BiTE antibody platform technology. Micromet's collaboration partners include sanofi-aventis, Bayer Schering Pharma, Merck Serono, Nycomed and MedImmune.

The Micromet, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6805

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 operation of the global collaboration with sanofi-aventis, the efficacy, safety and intended utilization of our product candidates, including the BiTE antibody that is the subject of the agreement with sanofi-aventis, the mode of action of BiTE antibodies, our development of blinatumomab, the conduct, timing and results of future clinical trials, expectations of the future expansion of our product pipeline and collaborations, and the future payment of milestone and royalty payments by sanofi-aventis and under our termination agreement with MedImmune. 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, the risks associated with reliance on collaborators, including sanofi-aventis, MedImmune, Merck Serono, TRACON and Nycomed, for the funding or conduct of further development and commercialization activities relating to our product candidates, and the risk of of adverse outcomes of legal proceedings. These factors and others are more fully discussed in Micromet's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2009, filed with the SEC on August 6, 2009, as well as other filings by the company with the SEC.

                                  Micromet, Inc.
                       Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                         (In thousands, except par value)

                                              Sept. 30,     Dec. 31,
                                                2009          2008
                                             -----------  -----------
                                             (unaudited)
 Assets
 Current assets:
 Cash, cash equivalents and short-term
  investments                                $   114,389  $    46,168
  Accounts receivable                              1,979        3,424
  Prepaid expenses and other current assets        2,029        1,950
                                             -----------  -----------
 Total current assets                            118,397       51,542
 Property and equipment, net                       3,751        3,322
 Goodwill                                          6,462        6,462
 Patents, net                                      1,164        5,250
 Other long-term assets                                3          959
 Restricted cash                                   3,167        3,140
                                             -----------  -----------
 Total assets                                $   132,944  $    70,675
                                             ===========  ===========

 Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
 Current liabilities:
  Accounts payable                           $     1,508  $       710
  Accrued expenses                                 7,159        6,492
  Common stock warrants liability                 20,477       12,294
  Current portion of deferred revenue              5,608        4,054
                                             -----------  -----------
 Total current liabilities                        34,752       23,550
                                             -----------  -----------
 Deferred revenue, net of current portion          7,413        7,555
 Other non-current liabilities                     2,352        2,025
 Long-term debt obligations                           --        2,157
 Commitments                                          --           --
 Stockholders' equity:
  Preferred stock, $0.00004 par value;
   10,000 shares authorized; no shares
   issued and outstanding                             --           --

  Common stock, $0.00004 par value; 150,000
   shares authorized; 68,932 shares issued
   and outstanding at September 30, 2009;
   50,913 shares issued and outstanding at
   December 31, 2008                                   3            2

  Additional paid-in capital                     312,470      227,806

  Accumulated other comprehensive income           8,291        5,749

  Accumulated deficit                           (232,337)    (198,169)
                                             -----------  -----------
 Total stockholders' equity                       88,427       35,388
                                             -----------  -----------
 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity  $   132,944  $    70,675
                                             ===========  ===========

                                 Micromet, Inc.
                 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
                     (In thousands, except per share amounts)
                                   (Unaudited)

                             Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
                                September 30,       September 30,
                             ------------------  ------------------
                               2009      2008      2009      2008
                             --------  ------------------  --------
 Revenues
  Collaboration agreements   $  3,361  $  7,009  $ 15,261  $ 20,658
  License fees and other          660        29     1,153       756
                             --------  --------  --------  --------
 Total revenues                 4,021     7,038    16,414    21,414
 Operating expenses
  Research and development     13,324     9,943    30,963    30,655
  General and
   administrative               3,808     3,429    11,124    10,346
                             --------  --------  --------  --------
 Total operating expenses      17,132    13,372    42,087    41,001
                             --------  --------  --------  --------
 Loss from operations         (13,111)   (6,334)  (25,673)  (19,587)
 Other income (expense)
  Interest expense                (52)      (45)     (222)     (189)
  Interest income                  66       183       346       649
  Change in fair value of
   warrants                    (6,354)   (6,794)   (8,183)   (8,503)
  Other income (expense)         (441)       99      (437)      246
                             --------  --------  --------  --------
 Net loss                    $(19,892) $(12,891) $(34,169) $(27,384)
                             ========  ========  ========  ========
 Basic and diluted net loss
  per common share           $  (0.32) $  (0.31) $  (0.62) $  (0.67)
                             ========  ========  ========  ========
 Weighted average shares
  used to compute basic and
  diluted net loss per
  share                        62,655    41,041    55,058    40,883
                             ========  ========  ========  ========

CONTACT:  Micromet, Inc.
          US Media:
          Andrea tenBroek/Chris Stamm
            (781)-684-0770
            micromet@schwartz-pr.com
          US Investors:
          Susan Noonan
            (212) 966-3650
            susan@sanoonan.com
          European Media:
          Ludger Wess
            +49 (40) 8816 5964
            ludger@akampion.com
          European Investors:
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            +49 (30) 2363 2768
            ines@akampion.com