Topic: How To Invest

Dear Patrick: I would appreciate your advice on a stock that appears to have a new approach to cancer treatment. Micromet is obviously a small and relatively unknown company, but if their expectations are realized I think it should be a big winner. Thanks again for your continued counsel.

Article Excerpt

Micromet Inc., $4.96, symbol MITI on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 79.7 million; Market cap: $442.2 million; www.micromet.de), is focused on discovering, developing and marketing new antibody-based cancer treatments. Micromet’s BiTE drugs aim to attach an antibody (or a blood protein) onto a molecule that attracts immune-system cells called T-cells to attack tumour cells. The company’s most promising candidate is blinatumomab (M103). The drug has completed a Phase I trial on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a Phase II trial on patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. (This aggressive type of leukemia attacks blood and bone marrow.) The drug had impressive results in the Phase II trial. However, this trial only involved a small, 12-patient sample. When the drug was given to acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who had either relapsed or were not responding to conventional therapy, 75% went into remission, compared to a rate of 17% to 45% for those who continued with conventional therapy. In the U.S., once a new drug clears the initial…