Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has entered into an agreement worth over $11bn to jointly develop and commercialise BioNTech’s investigational bispecific antibody across multiple solid tumour types.
The candidate, BNT327, is currently being evaluated in multiple clinical trials, including phase 3 studies in first-line stage small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. A late-stage trial in first-line triple negative breast cancer is also expected to begin by the end of this year.
The drug is directed at both PD-L1 and VEGF-A, two well-established therapeutic targets, and aims to help normalise blood vessels at the tumour site, improving delivery and the effectiveness of combination therapies. Preliminary data from ongoing trials has already “[underscored] the potential” of the approach, the companies outlined.
“We believe BNT327 has the potential to become a foundational immuno-oncology backbone, moving beyond single-mechanism checkpoint inhibitors and expanding into multiple solid-tumour indications,” said Ugur Sahin, BioNTech’s chief executive officer and co-founder.
“Our collaboration with BMS… aims to accelerate and broadly expand BNT327’s development to fully realise its potential,” Sahin added.
The global agreement will see the partners co-develop and co-commercialise BNT327, including as a monotherapy and in combination with other products. Both companies will also have the option to independently develop the candidate in further indications and combinations.
In exchange, BMS will pay BioNTech $1.5bn in an upfront payment and $2bn in non-contingent anniversary payments, with BioNTech also eligible to receive up to $7.6bn in additional development, regulatory and commercial milestones. The companies will equally split the development and manufacturing costs, as well as profits/losses.
Christopher Boerner, board chair and chief executive officer of BMS, said: “The science behind BNT327 and its leading clinical position in multiple hard-to-treat tumour types, further bolsters our pursuit of novel mechanisms and multiple modalities in oncology, and enhances our growth trajectory.
“We are impressed by the innovation that BioNTech has achieved to date, and we look forward to partnering to accelerate existing clinical trials and time to market, while expanding the number of potential indications.”