US pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and German firm BioNTech have announced a partnership worth up to $11.1 billion to jointly develop a new cancer treatment antibody.
The companies have agreed to globally develop and commercialise the experimental bispecific antibody BNT327, targeting various types of solid tumours.
BioNTech, which was behind one of the first Covid-19 vaccines, designed the potential drug.
Bispecific antibodies, considered a promising cancer treatment, attack two different targets, on tumour cells and immune cells.
Under the agreement, BMS will initially pay BioNTech $1.5 billion, with an additional $2 billion to follow by 2028.
BioNTech could also receive up to $7.6 billion based on the development and commercial milestones achieved.
“Global profits and losses will be shared equally between BioNTech and BMS,” the companies said in a joint release.
To date, over 1,000 patients have been treated with BNT327 in clinical trials, with more than 20 such trials ongoing or planned.
