On August 3, 2020 BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, "BioNTech" or "the Company") reported a strategic collaboration with Regeneron for a clinical trial combining BioNTech’s BNT111 FixVac product candidate and Libtayo (cemiplimab), a fully human anti-PD-1 therapy, for the treatment of melanoma (Press release, BioNTech, AUG 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234562743]). The companies plan to jointly conduct a randomized Phase 2 study in patients with anti-PD1-refractory/relapsed, unresectable Stage III or IV cutaneous melanoma. Melanoma is the deadliest skin cancer and estimated to kill more than 63,000 people around the world this year.1
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BNT111 is the most advanced of five clinical stage FixVac product candidates within BioNTech’s broader development pipeline. It is an mRNA cancer immunotherapy targeting four antigens frequently expressed in the tumors of patients with melanoma – NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A3, tyrosinase, and TPTE. BNT111 has demonstrated clinical anti-tumor activity as a monotherapy and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in an ongoing Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced melanoma after prior checkpoint blockade.
"We believe our FixVac platform represents a powerful new drug class of mRNA immunotherapies against cancer. We look forward to working together with Regeneron to advance this product candidate into potentially registrational clinical trials," said Ugur Sahin, CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech.
The two companies plan to pursue a clinical trial for the combination in the second-line treatment setting for advanced melanoma. The companies plan to disclose more details related to the planned Phase 2 study in the third quarter of 2020, with the goal of initiating the trial in the fourth quarter of 2020.
"Despite recent treatment advances with anti-PD-1 therapies for patients with melanoma, most patients fail to obtain a durable benefit. The combination of Libtayo and BNT111 FixVac has the potential to augment the immune system’s ability to effectively recognize melanoma in multiple ways and hopefully improve immune targeting to control the cancer," said Israel Lowy, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Translational Science and Oncology, at Regeneron.
Under the terms of the agreement, development costs for the clinical trial will be shared equally and both companies will contribute their products for the trial. Each party will retain full commercial rights for its respective product and record revenues related to its own product.
Libtayo is being jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi.