BioNTech's Dual-Acting Lung Cancer Drug Shows Promise in Phase 2 Trial

BioNTech, in partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb, has announced encouraging results from a Phase 2 trial of their experimental bispecific cancer drug, pumitamig (BNT327). The drug, which targets both the PD-1 immune pathway and the cancer growth driver VEGF, demonstrated significant efficacy in treating small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Impressive Tumor Response and Disease Control

In the Phase 2 trial, pumitamig, when combined with chemotherapy, showed remarkable results:

• 76% of participants experienced tumor shrinkage
• 100% of participants achieved disease control
• Patients went a median of nearly seven months without cancer progression

The drug's effectiveness varied slightly with dosage:

• 85% tumor shrinkage rate at 20 mg/kg dose
• 67% tumor shrinkage rate at 30 mg/kg dose

Dr. John Heymach, chair of thoracic, head and neck medical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and lead investigator of the study, stated, "The response rate and early progression free survival we are seeing in this interim analysis are encouraging and merit further investigation in a larger trial to validate pumitamig's potential to offer patients more durable anti-tumor responses relative to current standard of care."

Strategic Partnership and Ongoing Research

The development of pumitamig is part of a significant collaboration between BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb. The partnership, valued at $1.5 billion upfront with potential for $2 billion annually through 2028, underscores the importance of this innovative approach in cancer treatment.

BioNTech executives confirmed that the Phase 2 results support the dosage selected for an ongoing Phase 3 trial. This larger study is evaluating pumitamig in combination with chemotherapy for extensive-stage SCLC that cannot be treated with surgery or radiation. The Phase 3 trial directly compares pumitamig plus chemotherapy against Roche's Tecentriq plus placebo, with data expected by 2028.

Competitive Landscape in Lung Cancer Treatment

The development of pumitamig occurs amid intense competition in the field of dual-targeting cancer drugs. At the recent World Conference on Lung Cancer, several companies presented data on similar approaches:

• Summit Therapeutics reported disappointing survival data for ivonescimab in non-small cell lung cancer
• Current treatments for extensive-stage SCLC include Roche's Tecentriq, AstraZeneca's Imfinzi, and Amgen's Imdelltra

BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb are betting that the addition of VEGF inhibition to PD-1 targeting will provide a survival advantage for patients with extensive-stage SCLC, a hypothesis that will be tested in their ongoing Phase 3 trial.