Micromet's (MITI) third quarter loss per share came in at $0.22, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.14.

Micromet's re-acquisition of blinatumomab rights from MedImmune is of great significance as the company will be able to re-license the drug at more attractive terms. We believe that the company requires the strength of a large established player to accelerate blinatumomab's clinical development that seems crucial in order to gain a head-start over potential competitors.

Although no treatment options targeting CD19 are currently available commercially, many companies have pipeline candidates targeting it. Given the uncertainty related to its early stage pipeline, we downgrade the stock to Underperform.Zacks Investment Research

We have been waiting for final phase II data on Micromet’s (MITI) lead pipeline candidate blinatumomab, which was presented earlier this month at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting. The company’s product pipeline consists of novel antibodies generated with the proprietary bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody platform, as well as conventional monoclonal antibodies. The data is from a phase II clinical trial of the drug that was conducted with patients suffering from B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is a recombinant single-chain BiTE molecule targeting a protein called CD19, which is highly expressed in cancer cells. However, no treatment targeting CD19 is currently commercially available.  Patients with ALL are typically treated with complex and highly toxic chemotherapy regimens, which may be followed by bone marrow stem cell transplantation for eligible patients. After chemotherapy, patients with ALL may have a low number of residual tumor cells left ...

Baxter International Inc. (BAX) recently received another order for 10,000 H1N1 vaccines, commonly known as "swine flu," from Slovenia. The order is worth $158,700 (105,000 euros). It is estimated that the number of vaccines ordered is sufficient to cover 5,000 people in the country. Slovenia has also decided to purchase a total of 1.3 million units of H1N1 vaccines from the British arm of GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and the Swiss arm of Novartis AG (NVS) by the end of Jan. 2010. This would cost Slovenia roughly 14 million euros. The new order will help Baxter boost its top-line. Baxter sees a multiyear opportunity in H1N1 vaccines. The company expects to recognize $30 million to $40 million in revenues from H1N1 vaccines in the fourth quarter of 2009. Baxter has not speculated on H1N1 vaccine sales beyond the fourth quarter. However, increasing demand has raised ...

Micromet (MITI), a biopharmaceutical company, is dependent on many of its collaborating partners for its product portfolio. In this respect, the company received good news with Bayer exercising its option to develop a new bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody for the treatment of solid tumors. Bayer has exercised its option under the terms of the collaboration and license agreement entered in January 2009. Following this move by Bayer, both companies will be developing the drug under a formal collaboration. Micromet will be primarily responsible for the preclinical development of the BiTE antibody through the completion of phase 1 clinical trials. Thereafter, responsibility of the drug lies with Bayer, which will assume full control regarding its further development and commercialization. As per the deal, Micromet will receive an option exercise fee of €5 million (approx. $7.5 million). In addition, the company is eligible to receive milestone payments ...

Micromet’s (MITI) third-quarter loss per share came in at 22 cents, well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents and a loss of 15 cents in the prior-year period. The company reported revenues of $4 million, compared to $7 million in the third quarter of 2008. Micromet records revenues primarily in the form of reimbursements of expenses incurred by the company under different collaborative agreements. We believe current investor focus is more on the developments of the company’s portfolio rather than the financials.

Operating expenses during the quarter increased 28% year over year to $17.13 million, primarily due to a 34% rise in R&D expenses. The increase in R&D expenses was driven by Micromet assuming full responsibility of the development of its lead candidate blinatumomab as per the company’s agreement with MedImmune.

As a reminder, earlier this month, Micromet had agreed to buy out MedImmune's option to reacquire the right

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Baxter International Inc. (BAX) announced that it sees multiyear opportunity in H1N1 vaccines, commonly known as Swine Flu vaccines. The company expects to recognize $30 million to $40 million in revenues from swine flu vaccines in the fourth quarter. Baxter has not speculated on H1N1 vaccine sales beyond the fourth quarter. However, increasing demand has raised hopes for a multiyear opportunity. Baxter started shipping the product from August 2009.   Baxter and four other companies Sanofi-Aventis (SNY); MedImmune, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca plc (AZN); GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK); and Novartis have received authorization to market H1N1 vaccines. Baxter has received approval only for a two-dose vaccine and not a single-dose. Baxter uses its cell culture-based technology instead of the traditional one to produce these vaccines.   Baxter recently announced strong third quarter results. Earnings per share stood at 98 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of ...

An announcement today regarding the exclusive license granted to controversial chip-implant maker VeriChip (CHIP) for H1N1 detection sent CHIP shares hurtling nearly out of orbit -- up 178%, or over $2 per share -- to around $3.20 by Monday afternoon. Other news reports have cited that this is the biggest intra-day gain since the company went public in February 2007. VeriChip's development partner, RECEPTORS LLC, has granted exclusive rights to VeriChip to develop one of its patents based on the "virus triage detection system" used to treat H1N1 virus, commonly known as "swine flu." The H1N1 virus sent shockwaves of worry about a dangerous pandemic developing world-wide, and just last week came FDA approval of the first treatments of the virus from Sanofi-Aventis SA (SFY), CSL Ltd, MedImmune (now a subsidiary of AstraZeneca AZN) and Novartis AG (NOV). VeriChip is best known for ...

We currently rate shares of AstraZeneca (AZN) a Hold with a $47 price target. The company is facing a number of challenges as it enters 2009, most notably generic competition to Toprol-XL, Nexium, Casodex and Pulmicort.The just-announced increase to the cost-cutting program will aid EPS in the near-term, but we do not believe this will be enough to compensate for continued revenue deterioration beyond 2010. Atacand and Arimidex will both be subject to generic competition in 2010, then Seroquel and Symbicort lose U.S. patent protection in 2011 and 2012, respectively. This puts significantly more pressure on the company to commercialize its late-stage pipeline.The MedImmune acquisition significantly beefs up the company's pipeline, which should aid in this effort through its sizeable biologics platform. We expect management to continue to look for additional licensing and outsourcing opportunities in order to reduce operating leverage and ...

We currently rate shares of AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) a Hold with a $38 price target. The company is facing a number of challenges as it enters 2009, most notably generic competition to Toprol-XL, Nexium, Casodex, and Pulmicort.The just-announced increase to the cost-cutting program will aid EPS in the near-term, but we do not believe this will be enough to compensate for continued revenue deterioration beyond 2010. Atacand and Arimidex will both be subject to generic competition in 2010, then Seroquel and Symbicort lose U.S. patent protection in 2011 and 2012, respectively. This puts significantly more pressure on the company to commercialize its late-stage pipeline.The MedImmune acquisition significantly beefs up the company's pipeline, which should aid in this effort through its sizable biologics platform. We expect management to continue to look for additional licensing and outsourcing opportunities in order to reduce operating leverage and offset ...

On Friday April 24, 2009, Micromet Inc. (MITI) held a briefing for investors and financial analysts in New York to provide an update on the company's drug development pipeline.A key highlight of the presentation was the announcement that a rapid path to market has been identified in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for the company's lead drug candidate BiTE antibody blinatumomab (MT103) with a registration trial planned for 2010. This was in addition to a dose escalation study which is currently underway of blinatumomab for non Hodgkin's lymphoma, with final results expected to be reported at the American Society of Hematology meeting in December.MITI also provided an update on MT110, which is currently in a phase 1 dose-escalating clinical trial in patients with lung or gastrointestinal cancer. In addition, pre-clinical data for the company's EGFR BiTE Antibody, presented at the recent annual meeting of the ...