A new cancer vaccine candidate—BNT116—could be a source of hope for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Vaccine development

Developed by BioNTech, BNT116 is currently being evaluated in phase 2 trials to establish a safety profile and safe dose.

ClinicalTrials.gov. 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). May 17, 2024.

It is being evaluated alone and in combination with the monoclonal antibody medication cemiplimab.

BioNTech. Breakthrough technologies across different drug classes to revolutionize medicine.

According to BioNTech, BNT116 is an mRNA cancer vaccine designed to encode six shared lung cancer–associated antigens frequently expressed in NSCLC. The vaccine is based on BioNTech’s “FixVac” platform, which consists of “a fixed combination of mRNA-encoded non-mutated tumor antigens, which are known to frequently express within specific cancer types.”

BioNTech. Our mRNA Platforms – revolutionizing vaccine technology.

The company says BNT116 works by “presenting the right set of antigens for each cancer indication to the immune system,” in order to “activate immune cells that recognize cancer-specific antigens and turn them against the cancer cells.”

BioNTech. Our mRNA Platforms – revolutionizing vaccine technology.

News reports say that Racz received six injections—5 minutes apart—at University College London Hospital.

Stearn E. First man in Britain receives pioneering lung cancer vaccine - amid worrying rise of disease in young, never-smokers. Daily Mail Online. August 23, 2024.

Each shot contained different strands of RNA. He will get the vaccine at 3-week intervals the next 54 weeks.

The vaccine shows promise, but will it be a success?

Nathan Teich, MD, a thoracic oncologist at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, NJ, tells MDLinx that while the vaccine could change the lung cancer landscape, much more information is needed. “We will need to see the efficacy data regarding whether there is increased progression-free survival or overall survival with the addition of this vaccine to the standard of care,” he says. 

He adds that the trial will also help provide an understanding of how lung cancer responds to certain treatments. “If this trial is successful, it would enhance the effectiveness of current treatments with chemoimmunotherapy […] in all non-small cell lung cancer patients who do not have a targetable mutation for treatment,” Dr. Teich says. “This may increase the survival of patients in both early and late-stage disease.” For now, he says, physicians will need to wait for safety data information about side effects. 

Nilesh Vora, MD, a board-certified hematologist and medical oncologist and the medical director of the MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute at Long Beach Medical Center, agrees with Dr. Teich. “[The vaccine] is a great idea in theory, but it’s an early stage trial. We’ve seen vaccine trials before [and] they haven’t always panned out,” he says. “Before I start hyping this vaccine, I need to see data.” 

Dr. Vora adds that it might be many years before we have clear data on the efficacy of BNT116—but that it’s something to be hopeful about.