Bristol-Myers provides Opdivo for Bavarian Nordic lung cancer study

Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic (OMX: BAVA) has signed a drug supply agreement with US pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY).

Based on the agreement, B-MS will supply its Opdivo (nivolumab) to Bavarian Nordic for use in a clinical study. The trial, which will be sponsored by Bavarian Nordic, will enroll around 160 patients and will look to explore the benefit of combining CV301 with Opdivo in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Opdivo is approved for treatment of patients with NSCLC in the second line setting, among other indications.

CV301 targets two tumor-associated antigens, CEA and MUC-1, which are over-expressed in major cancer types, including lung, bladder and colorectal cancer. Similar to prostate cancer vaccine candidate Prostvac, CV301 uses an off-the-shelf, prime/boost dosing schedule. CV301 incorporates a modified version of vaccinia (MVA-BN) as a priming dose, followed by multiple fowlpox boosts, and encodes the TRICOM co-stimulatory molecules.