Lund, Sweden – 3 September 2018 – BioInvent International AB (OMXS: BINV) announces today the publication of data confirming the power of its integrated technology platform for discovery of clinically relevant oncology targets and therapeutic antibodies.

The article is published today by BioInvent researchers in collaboration with Professor Mats Ohlin’s team at Lund University, and clinical researchers at the Hematology and Oncology Departments at Skåne University Hospital, in npj Precision Oncology, a new online only journal belonging to the Nature Partner Journals series. Titled “A platform for phenotypic discovery of therapeutic antibodies and targets applied on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia”, it describes how the application of phenotypic F.I.R.S.T.™ discovery enables efficient identification of therapeutic antibody-target combinations.

It thereby confirms the relevance of the Company’s integrated technology platform, which comprises the n-CoDeR® antibody library and the unique F.I.R.S.T.™ development tool, for discovery of clinically relevant oncology targets and therapeutic antibodies.

“The publication of this research in npj Precision Oncology is an important confirmation of the validity of BioInvent’s approach to drug discovery”, says Björn Frendéus, Chief Scientific Officer. “The data supports the use of our platform for several different cell types, including individual patient cells, enabling development of personalized antibody drugs. We also foresee that it can be used for identification of antibodies that synergize with existing therapies, and that the platform therefore has the potential to yield antibodies that improve treatment of many cancer types.”

The research demonstrated that when F.I.R.S.T.™ was applied to cancer cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), it resulted in discovery of antibodies and associated targets with improved cytotoxicity compared to the standard of care CD20-specific antibody rituximab. Enhanced antibody efficacy was confirmed in vivo using patient-derived xenograft models that retain the tumor’s sensitivity or resistance to rituximab. The data identified FcγRIIB as a promising target for antibody based direct-targeting of CLL cells, contributing to the rationale for BioInvent’s ongoing clinical development of the FcγRIIB-specific antibody BI-1206 in FcγRIIB-positive B cell malignancy.

Reference
Ljungars A, Mårtensson L, Mattsson J, Kovacek M, Sundberg A, Tornberg U-C, Jansson B, Persson N, Kuci Emruli V, Ek S, Jerkeman M, Hansson M, Juliusson G, Ohlin M, Frendéus B, Teige I and Mattsson M. A platform for phenotypic discovery of therapeutic antibodies and targets applied on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia npj Precision Oncology DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-018-0061-2

About Nature Partner Journals
Nature Partner Journals are an online-only, open access series of Nature Research journals, published by Springer Nature in partnership with global academic institutions, centers of excellence, philanthropic funders and membership associations. Nature Partner Journals adopt a modified set of Nature editorial standards, bringing together strong editorial leadership with world-class publication systems to deliver high-quality, peer-reviewed original research to the global scientific community.

About BioInvent 
BioInvent International AB (OMXS: BINV) is focused on the discovery and development of novel and first-in-class immuno-regulatory antibodies to treat cancer. The Company’s clinical programs are BI-1206, currently in a Phase I/II for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and chronic lymphatic leukaemia, and TB-403, in cooperation with Oncurious, currently in Phase I/II for medulloblastoma. BioInvent has a promising pre-clinical portfolio based on novel immuno-modulatory antibodies that target regulatory T cells, and tumour-associated myeloid cells. The Company has a strategic research collaboration with Pfizer Inc., and also works with leading academic institutions, such as the University of Southampton, Cancer Research UK, and Penn Medicine. BioInvent has partnerships with Bayer Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma and generates revenues from the manufacturing for third parties of antibodies for research through to late-stage clinical trials. More information is available at www.bioinvent.se

For further information, please contact:

  
BioInvent International AB (publ)
Co. reg. No. 556537-7263
Visiting address: Sölvegatan 41
Mailing address: 223 70 LUND
Phone: +46 (0)46 286 85 50
www.bioinvent.com

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