A Breakthrough Collaboration
BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) and Genmab presented promising news on Saturday regarding their joint efforts to combat lung cancer. The companies announced that their investigational bispecific antibody, acasunlimab, has shown significant improvements in survival rates for lung cancer patients when combined with Merck’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda.
Survival Milestones Unveiled
Following early results from a mid-stage trial, the partnership disclosed that patients treated with acasunlimab in conjunction with Keytruda every six weeks experienced a median overall survival (mOS) of 17.5 months.
Comparative Success Rates
In contrast, patients who received acasunlimab monotherapy or a combination of acasunlimab + pembrolizumab on a three-week dosing schedule achieved mOS rates of 5.5 months and 8.6 months, respectively.
A Glimpse at Longevity
The study also revealed a 12-month overall survival rate of 69% for patients undergoing the drug combination with a six-week dosing schedule.
Insights from the Trial
This data stems from an interim analysis of a Phase 2 trial involving 113 patients with PD-L(1)-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Notably, the tolerability of the experimental therapy aligned with established safety profiles of the individual drugs, with most treatment-related adverse events categorized as Grade 1 and 2.