BioNtech SE expands collab with Genmab A/S

By means of the exended collaboration, BioNTech SE aims to broaden its pipeline of monospecific antibodies against malignant solid tumours. Genmab’s first candidate GEN1053/BNT313 is expected to enter clinical trials in Q4/2022. BioNTech and Genmab have agreed to share development costs and potential future revenues on a 50:50 basis.
 
The companies have been already working together since 2015 to develop bispecific cancer antibodies - so- called Duomabs –to improve current immunotherapy options for cancer patients. They have two candidates resulting from the collaboration in clinical trials: GEN1046/BNT311 is being evaluated in two Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of advanced solid tumours (NCT04937153, NCT03917381) and in a Phase II trial in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (NCT05117242). In addition, GEN1042/BNT312 is being investigated in a Phase I/II study (NCT04083599) for the treatment of metastatic or locally advanced solid tumours.

Genmab’s licenced hexabody GEN1053/BNT313 is an agonistic CD27 antibody specifically designed to form an antibody hexamer upon binding of its target structure on the cell membrane of T cells.