BioInvent deepens collaboration with MSD
BioInvent has signed a new clinical collaboration and supply agreement with MSD. The agreement covers the evaluation of BioInvent’s anti-TNFR2 antibody BI-1910 in combination with MSD’s Keytruda in the second part of a phase I/IIa study in solid tumours. The monotherapy part of the study has been ongoing since December, and the first results are expected by year-end 2024.
BioInvent currently has five antibody drug candidates that go through six different clinical trials. This broad portfolio of candidates thus paves the way for a potentially denser news flow, compared to companies with fewer assets in the pipeline. When BioInvent communicated expected milestones for the year in early 2024, it predicted a significant inflow of data. Read more here.
New agreement with MSD
BioInvent has entered into a new clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD International Business GmbH, a subsidiary of Merck & Co. It already has three collaborations with MSD where BI-1206, BI-1808 and BT-001 are evaluated in combination with the anti-PD-1 drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab). The fact that they are now entering into yet another collaboration with MSD means that the contacts are further deepened.
The agreement covers the combination part of the phase I/IIa study with BI-1910, where the monoclonal antibody will be evaluated in combination with Keytruda. The monotherapy part of the phase I/IIa study with BI-1910 was initiated in December 2023, and the first results are expected by the end of 2024.
The phase I/IIa study is conducted in the US and Europe with an adaptive design for optimal dose escalation.
BioInvent’s second TNFR2 programme
BI-1910 is BioInvent’s second TNFR2 (tumor necrosis factor receptor 2) programme in clinical development, following BI-1808 which is in phase IIa. BI-1910 is an agonistic antibody that attacks cancer by a different mechanism than BI-1808. Both of these monoclonal antibodies have been selected as potential best-in-class candidates from a large number of antibodies generated using BioInvent’s proprietary F.I.R.S.T. technology platform.
The new supply agreement with MSD means that MSD will provide Keytruda for use in combination with BI-1910.
Commenting on the news, Martin Welschof, CEO of BioInvent, said:
The content of BioStock’s news and analyses is independent but the work of BioStock is to a certain degree financed by life science companies. The above article concerns a company from which BioStock has received financing.“We are delighted to enter into another clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD to investigate the unique features of BI-1910 in combination with KEYTRUDA. This trial will build on our deep understanding of the TNFR2 biology as we move two differentiated monoclonal antibodies through clinical development. This is our fifth product in ongoing clinical trials, demonstrating the capacity of BioInvent’s technology to identify novel, first-in-class therapeutic cancer targets.”
