RecruitingPhase 1

Clinical Trial Evaluating the Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Efficacy of BNT116 Alone and in Combinations in Patients With Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

LuCa-MERIT-1: First-in-human, Open Label, Phase I Dose Confirmation Trial Evaluating the Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Efficacy of BNT116 Alone and in Combinations in Patients With Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Who can join

As published by the study on ClinicalTrials.gov. "Not stated" means the study hasn't said — ask the study team.

Age
18 Years and older
Sex
All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Not accepted
Compensation
Not stated

Other requirements are listed under Eligibility below. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.

What to expect

No one can promise a trial will help you personally — that is what the research is trying to find out.

What participation involves

Not stated in the study description — ask the study team about visits and procedures.

Compensation
Not stated
  • Study-related exams and procedures are typically provided at no cost. This is how many trials work in general — confirm the details for this study with the study team.
  • Participants are monitored closely by the research team throughout the study.
  • Some participants may receive access to an investigational treatment, which is still being studied.
  • Your participation helps researchers learn whether this approach could help future patients.

About this study

In plain language

This study tests BNT116 in people for the first time, alone or with other cancer drugs. It aims to find safe doses, check side effects, and look for early signs that treatment works. It is for people with non-small cell lung cancer, including advanced cancer and some stage II or III cancers.

This first-in-human (FIH) study for BNT116 aims to establish the safety profile and a safe dose for BNT116 monotherapy as well as for BNT116 in combination with approved medicinal products and/or in combination with investigational medicinal products (IMPs) including, but not limited to, cemiplimab, docetaxel, carboplatin, paclitaxel, osimertinib, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), rearranged during transfection (RET) TKIs, BNT316 (an anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 \[CTLA-4\] antibody), an anti-B7-H3 antibody conjugated to a topoisomerase I inhibitor, an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3) antibody conjugated to a topoisomerase I inhibitor or a bispecific antibody for programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in participants with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study will comprise several cohorts for dose confirmation in monotherapy as well as in combinations of BNT116 as mentioned above. The study will enroll participants with NSCLC in advanced or metastatic stage in Cohorts 1 to 4 and Cohorts 7 to 10, unresectable NSCLC Stage III in Cohorts 5 and 11, resectable NSCLC of Stage II and III in Cohort 6, advanced/metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant NSCLC in Cohort EGFR, and advanced/metastatic ALK rearranged or RET rearranged NSCLC in Cohort ALK/RET. Cohort EGFR and Cohort ALK/RET will enroll only at selected sites in the US.

Compensation is read from the study's own description and may be missing — always confirm with the study team.

Eligibility

Who can join

  • You must have non-small cell lung cancer confirmed by a tissue test. Most groups also require tumors that can be measured on scans.
  • Most groups require stage III cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or stage IV cancer that has spread. Group 6 allows stage II or III cancer that can be removed by surgery.
  • You must be able to do most daily activities. Some groups allow people who need more rest but can still care for themselves.
  • Groups 1, 3, 7, 8, and 9 usually require past immune treatment and platinum-based chemotherapy. Group 1 usually requires another drug treatment too. Several groups require cancer that has gotten worse.
  • Some groups require certain levels of PD-L1, a protein on cancer cells, or the ability to tolerate more immune treatment. Groups 4 and 10 are for people who cannot have chemotherapy as their first treatment for advanced cancer.
  • Groups 5 and 11 require prior chemotherapy with radiation. Group 6 requires that you can have surgery and treatment before surgery.
  • The EGFR group requires certain EGFR gene changes and current osimertinib treatment. The ALK/RET group requires ALK or RET gene changes and current standard treatment targeting them. These groups are only at selected U.S. sites.
  • Group 7 and some new members of Group 1B must agree to required blood samples to study immune cells.

Who can't join

  • Current whole-body drug treatment for lung cancer is listed as an exclusion. However, the EGFR and ALK/RET groups require ongoing targeted treatment.
  • A cancer gene change with an approved targeted treatment, unless you cannot receive that treatment. This rule does not apply to the EGFR and ALK/RET groups.
  • A serious autoimmune disease—when the immune system attacks the body—that needed drugs to weaken the immune system within the past 5 years. Some thyroid and skin conditions are allowed.
  • New or growing cancer in the brain or spinal cord, or cancer in the tissue covering them. Some treated, stable brain or spinal tumors may be allowed, but not in groups 5, 6, or 11.
  • Long-term steroid use above the allowed dose, or other major treatment that weakened the immune system within the past 3 months. Some low-dose or hormone-replacement steroids are allowed.
  • The HIV exclusion mentions low CD4 immune-cell counts and a history of AIDS-related infection, but the provided text cuts off before the rule is complete.

Simplified for readability. The official criteria below are what the study team uses.

Official eligibility criteria

Key Inclusion Criteria: * Participants must have histologically confirmed NSCLC and measurable disease by RECIST v1.1. Note: Participants in Cohorts 1, 5 and 11 as well as in Cohorts EGFR and ALK/RET do not have to present with measurable disease. 1. Participants must present with unresectable Stage III or metastatic Stage IV NSCLC by American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) Cancer Staging Manual, Eighth Edition. EXCEPT 2. Participants in Cohorts 5 and 11 must present with unresectable Stage III NSCLC by AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Eighth Edition before receiving pre-study chemoradiotherapy. 3. Participants in Cohort 6 with the initial diagnosis of resectable Stage II and Stage III NSCLC by AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Eighth Edition. * Participants in Cohorts 2, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 must be able to tolerate (additional) anti-PD-1 therapy (i.e., did not permanently discontinue anti-programmed death protein 1 \[PD-1\] / PD-L1\] therapy due to toxicity). * Participants must have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) less than or equal to (\<=) 1, except for participants in Cohorts 1, 4, 5, 10 and 11 who are eligible with an ECOG-PS of 0-2. Cohort-specific inclusion criteria: Cohort 1: * Participants' prior therapy must have included at least a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and a platinum-based chemotherapy regimen as well as one other line of systemic therapy (except if a participant is not candidate for a platinum-based chemotherapy and/or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and/or another line of systemic therapy). Note: Participants newly enrolled in Cohort 1B under protocol v 5.0 and subsequent versions of the protocol must consent to mandatory blood sampling for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). * Participants who are to start cemiplimab at Cycle 3 must present with PD-L1 expression of tumor proportion score (TPS) greater than or equal to (\>=) 1% in tumor cells (as determined locally). Cohort 2: * Participants must present with PD-L1 expression of TPS \>= 50% in tumor cells (as determined locally prior to inclusion in this study). * Participants must present with progressive disease either 1. in the advanced or metastasized stage of NSCLC: while on a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy or within 6 months of termination of this treatment as first-line treatment. Or 2. be refractory to ongoing adjuvant therapy/maintenance treatment after CRT with a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor that has been given for at least 3 months in monotherapy (i.e., after an initial combination therapy) before being enrolled into this study. Cohort 3: * Participants' prior therapy must have included at least a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and a platinum-based chemotherapy regimen (except if a participant is not candidate for a platinum-based chemotherapy and/or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor). * Participants must present with progressive disease. Cohort 4: * Participants who are not candidates for chemotherapy as first-line treatment for the advanced or metastasized stage of NSCLC may be enrolled if presenting with PD-L1 expression: TPS \>= 1% in tumor cells (as determined locally). Cohort 5: * Participants' NSCLC must have been considered unresectable due to participant's condition and/or tumor-related factors and the participants must have undergone chemoradiotherapy before entering the study. Cohort 6: * Participants' NSCLC must be considered technically and medically resectable. * Participants must be considered eligible for neo-adjuvant treatment. Cohort 7: * Participants' prior therapy must have included at least a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and a platinum-based chemotherapy regimen (except if a participant is not a candidate for a platinum-based chemotherapy and/or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor). Note 1: Participants may have received prior therapy targeting CTLA-4, lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3), T cell immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif \[ITIM\] domain (TIGIT), VEGF or VEGF receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor as monotherapy or part of a combination therapy. Note 2: If the participants' prior therapies included a CTLA-4 inhibitor, the participant must be able to tolerate (additional) treatment with the CTLA-4 inhibitor. * Participants must present with progressive disease at study enrollment. * Participants must consent to mandatory blood sampling for PBMCs. Cohorts 8 \& 9: * Participants' prior therapy must have included at least a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and a platinum-based chemotherapy regimen (except if a participant is not a candidate for a platinum-based chemotherapy and/or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor). * Participants must present with progressive disease at study enrollment. Cohort 10: * Participants who are not candidates for chemotherapy as first-line treatment for the advanced or metastasized stage of NSCLC may be enrolled. Cohort 11: * Participants' NSCLC must have been considered unresectable due to participants condition and/or tumor related factors and the participants must have undergone chemoradiotherapy before entering the study. Cohort EGFR (will enroll only at selected sites in the US): * Participants' NSCLC must have classical EGFR mutations, i.e., ex19Del or L858R. * Participants must have ongoing treatment with osimertinib. Cohort ALK/RET (will enroll only at selected sites in the US): * Participants' NSCLC must have ALK rearrangement or RET rearrangement. * Participants must have ongoing treatment with a standard of care ALK TKI or RET TKI. Key Exclusion Criteria: * Ongoing active systemic treatment against NSCLC. * Presence of a driver mutation for which approved target therapies are available except if the participant is not a candidate for the respective targeted therapy. EXCEPT participants in Cohort EGFR and Cohort ALK/RET. * Ongoing or recent evidence (within the last 5 years) of significant autoimmune disease that required treatment with systemic immunosuppressive treatments which may suggest risk for immune-related adverse events. Note: Participants with autoimmune-related hyperthyroidism, autoimmune-related hypothyroidism who are in remission, or on a stable dose of thyroid-replacement hormone, vitiligo, or psoriasis may be included. * Current evidence of new or growing brain or spinal metastases during screening. Participants with leptomeningeal disease are excluded. Participants with known brain or spinal metastases may be eligible for all Cohorts, except for Cohorts 5, 6 and 11, if they: * had radiotherapy or another appropriate therapy for the brain or spinal metastases, AND * have no neurological symptoms that can be attributed to the current brain lesions, AND * have stable brain or spinal disease on the computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan within 4 weeks before signing the informed consent (confirmed by stable lesions on two scans at least 4 weeks apart), AND * do not require steroid therapy for the treatment of brain or spinal metastases within 14 days before the first dose of study treatment. Note: Spinal bone metastases (that is, of the vertebrae) are allowed, unless imminent fracture or cord compression is anticipated. * Systemic immune suppression: * Current use of chronic systemic steroid medication (\<= 5 mg/day prednisolone equivalent is allowed); participants using physiological replacement doses of prednisone for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency are eligible. Note: Steroid medication given for supportive or prophylactic reasons during CRT for participants in Cohorts 5 and 11 needs to be tapered to \<= 5 mg/day prednisolone equivalent at latest on the day before the study treatment starts. * Other clinically relevant systemic immune suppression within the last 3 months before study enrollment. * Known history of seropositivity for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4)+ T-cell (CD4+) counts less than (\<) 350 cells/microlitre (mcL) and with a history of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining opportunistic infections. * Prior splenectomy. * History/risk of interstitial lung disease or low baseline lung function (baseline pulse oximetry of less than 92% oxygen saturation without additional oxygen). NOTE: Other protocol defined Inclusion/Exclusion criteria apply to all or some participants depending on the cohort.

Study sites (6)

KY

MD

OH

TX

VA