Micromet Inc. raised $40 million in a private placement to bolster its portfolio of four antibodies in clinical trials.

Under the definitive agreement, the Bethesda, Md.-based company will sell approximately 9.4 million shares of common stock and warrants to purchase about 2.8 million shares at $4.25 per unit. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.30 shares, exercisable at $4.63 per share

Piper Jaffray & Co. served as sole book-running lead placement agent, with RBC Capital Markets acting as co-lead placement agent, and Natixis Bleichroeder serving as financial advisor.

The money is targeted for R&D efforts and advancement of its product candidates, including lead BiTE antibody blinatumomab (MT103/MEDI-538), which is in a Phase II trial in acute lymphoblastic leukemia and in a Phase I trial for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The company's BiTE antibodies are a new class of antibodies that activate a patient's own cytotoxic T cells to eliminate cancer cells. Micromet is developing blinatumomab in partnership with MedImmune Inc., a subsidiary of AstraZeneca plc, of London.

Another BiTE antibody in development is MT110 which is in a Phase I trial for the treatment of patients with lung or gastrointestinal cancer.

Also in the pipeline is adecatumumab (MT201), a human monoclonal antibody that targets epithelial cell adhesion molecule-expressing solid tumors. It is in a Phase Ib trial, in collaboration with Merck Serono, evaluating adecatumumab in combination with docetaxel for patients with metastatic breast cancer .

The fourth clinical stage antibody is MT293, which is licensed to Tracon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, and is being developed in a Phase I trial for the treatment of patients with cancer. Three additional BiTE antibodies, targeting CD33, CEA and MCSP, are in preclinical development.

Micromet has a partnership with Nycomed for the development and commercialization of MT203, a human antibody neutralizing the activity of granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor, which has potential applications in the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.