BioInvent International AB (STO:BINV), a clinical stage company that discovers and develops novel and first-in-class immuno-modulatory antibodies for cancer therapies, announced on Wednesday the conclusion of a production agreement with Cancer Research UK, a large independent funder of cancer research.

This agreement is for the production of Hummingbird Bioscience's anti-HER3 antibody drug HMBD-001 for use within a clinical partnership formed between Cancer Research UK and Hummingbird Bioscience to test the agent in a phase I trial. Under this agreement, which is expected to generate revenues of approximately SEK30m, mostly in 2020, BioInvent will provide HMBD-001 to Cancer Research UK.

The deal includes process, analytical and formulation development, process scale up and manufacturing of toxicology and clinical grade material in 200-litres and 1,000-litres scale.

Cancer Research UK's Centre for Drug Development has entered into a partnership with Hummingbird Bioscience to manufacture clinical grade anti-HER3 antibody and conduct a phase I clinical trial to evaluate drug safety, toxicity and efficacy.

HMBD-001 is the only anti-HER3 antibody in development that binds to the most critical region involved in HER3 activation, turning off this signal completely, BioInvent said.

If successful, this new antibody could be used in the treatment of multiple cancers and be effective against drug-resistant cancers.

(EUR1.00=SEK10.73)