PD-L1x4-1BB is a bispecific antibody that is being developed in collaboration with Genmab A/S. The Phase I/IIa study will test the bispecific antibody in patients with metastatic or unresectable malignant solid tumors that cannot be treated with standard therapy. The DuoBody PD-L1x4-1BB is the first jointly developed product candidate to enter the clinical phase.

"The achievement of starting a Phase I/IIa clinical trial with a product candidate developed in only four years is a validation of our highly productive partnership with Genmab," said Prof. Dr. Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech.

The costs and profits generated by the partnership are shared equally on a 50:50 basis. The goal of the collaboration, signed in 2015 and expanded in 2016 with additional targets and technologies, is to develop and commercialize several novel bispecific antibodies with superior in vivo efficacy that specifically activate the immune system against cancer cells.

As a former winner of the GO-Bio competition, BioNtech has developed into one of Europe's leading biopharmaceutical companies. The biotech company is a pioneer in the development of individualized and precise immunotherapies against cancer and for the prevention of infectious diseases. Its leading technologies range from individualized mRNA-based drug candidates and therapies based on innovative chimeric antigen or T cell receptors to novel antibodies for the immunomodulation of checkpoint inhibitors and small molecule drugs.

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