The two phase II clinical trials were evaluating adecatumumab as a single agent for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Micromet and Serono reported final data for the two phase II studies in October. The compound originated at Micromet and is being developed in collaboration between the companies.
Adecatumumab is a human monoclonal antibody targeting tumor cells over expressing the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM). EpCAM is the most widely and frequently expressed tumor-associated antigen known, and therefore, as target for monoclonal antibodies, has the potential to treat a majority of human solid tumors including breast, prostate, ovarian, colon, lung, pancreas and gastric cancer.
Recent work suggested that EpCAM over expressed on tumor cells is a potent oncogenic signaling protein, is present on so-called tumor stem cells and was shown in various cancer indications to be a negative prognostic factor for patient survival.