From Europe to the US: The Transformation of Micromet
February 2008
From Europe to the US: The Transformation of Micromet
Interview with Christian Itin
From Europe to the US: The Transformation of Micromet
In this interview, Fintan Walton talks to Christian Itin, President and CEO of antibody technology company Micromet. Christian talks about how the company was set up in Munich to address one of the gaps in cancer therapy: treatment of the stage of the disease known as micrometastases. He goes on to describe how the decision to launch an IPO in Europe in 2005 was overturned in favour of entering into a reverse merger agreement with CancerVax, through which Micromet was able to forward integrate into the US and gain a listing on Nasdaq. Christian then discusses in some detail Micromet’s antibody technology and the company’s alliances, including the one with MedImmune and the effect that the ensuing merger with AstraZeneca had on the partnership.
About Christian Itin
Christian Itin has served as CEO of Micromet since March 2004. He joined the company in 1999 as Head of IP and Licensing, then went on to become Vice President of Corporate Development, Vice President Business and Corporate Development and finally Chief Business Officer for 2 years before becoming CEO. Before joining Micromet, Dr Itin was a co-founder of Zyomyx, Inc., a protein chip company. He holds a Diploma in biology and a PhD in cell biology from the University of Basel, Switzerland.
About Micromet
Micromet AG was founded in 1993 as a spin-off from the Institute for Immunology in Munich University, Germany. In May 2006, it merged with CancerVax Corporation to form Micromet, Inc. This reverse merger enabled Micromet to be listed on Nasdaq. The company’s key technology is BiTE® (Bispecific T-Cell Engagers). These BiTE antibodies are designed to direct the body's cytotoxic, or cell-destroying, T cells against tumour cells and represent a new therapeutic approach to cancer therapy.
