On August 6, 2021 BioInvent International AB ("BioInvent") (Nasdaq Stockholm: BINV) reported that it has entered into a second clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD, a tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ., USA, to evaluate the combination of BioInvent’s BI-1808, one of its proprietary anti-TNFR2 antibodies and MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial for patients with lung cancer and ovarian cancer (Press release, BioInvent, AUG 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234586028]).

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"We are very pleased we have reached a second collaboration with MSD that supports the expansion of the clinical trial program with our anti-TNFR2 antibody BI-1808. The Phase 1 component is already enrolling patients who receive BI-1808 as a single agent. We are excited about the potential synergistic activity of BI-1808 in combination with pembrolizumab and this agreement supports the strong interest elicited by our broadening pipeline of anti-cancer antibodies," said Martin Welschof, CEO of BioInvent.

The Phase 1/2a trial explores the potential of BI-1808 to treat patients with ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer both as a single agent and in combination with KEYTRUDA. A separate cohort in the Phase 2a component will explore the activity of BI-1808 as a single agent in cutaneous T cell lymphoma. It is planned to perform the trial in the U.S., Denmark, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Patient enrollment is already taking place in several European countries.

The anti-TNFR2 antibody BI-1808 is part of BioInvent’s tumor-associated regulatory T cells (Treg)-targeting program, which has emerged from its F.I.R.S.T platform technology that simultaneously identifies targets and high-quality antibodies, generating promising new drug candidates to target the tumor microenvironment. TNFR2 is particularly upregulated on Tregs and has been shown to be important for tumor expansion and survival, representing a new and important target for cancer immunotherapies.

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.