Recruiting
Phase 2
Phase 3

BNT113 & Pembrolizumab

Sponsor:

BioNTech SE

Code:

NCT04534205

Conditions

Unresectable Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

BNT113

Pembrolizumab

Study Details

Brief summary:

An open-label, controlled, multi-site, interventional, 2-arm, Phase II/III trial of BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab vs pembrolizumab monotherapy as first line treatment in patients with unresectable recurrent or metastatic HPV16+ HNSCC expressing programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) with combined positive score (CPS) ≥1.

This trial has two parts.

Part A, is an initial non-randomized Safety Run-In Phase to confirm the safety and tolerability at the selected dose range level of BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab.

Part B, is a randomized part to generate pivotal efficacy and safety data of BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in the first line setting in patients with unresectable recurrent or metastatic HPV16+ HNSCC expressing PD-L1 with CPS ≥1. Patients included in the Safety Run-In Phase of the trial (Part A) will not be randomized to Part B and will continue on-trial treatment (BNT113 plus pembrolizumab) within Part A.

For Part B, an optional pre-screening phase is available for all patients where patients' tumor samples may be submitted for central HPV16 DNA and central PD-L1 expression testing prior to screening into the main trial.

Patients will be treated with BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab or with pembrolizumab monotherapy for approximately up to 24 months.

Conditions

Unresectable Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer

Study ID

NCT04534205

Start date

Jan 7, 2021

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Apr, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Apr, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Key Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients must sign the written pre-screening informed consent form (ICF) before any pre-screening procedures.
  • Patients who present histologically confirmed recurrent or metastatic HPV16+ HNSCC that is considered incurable by local therapies.
  • Patients who have a tumor that expresses PD-L1 \[CPS ≥1\] as determined by the European Conformity (CE)-marked/Food and Drug Administration-approved CDx PD-L1 immunohistochemistry 22C3 pharmDx performed according to the manufacturer's instructions for use.
  • Patients must not have had prior systemic anticancer therapy administered in the incurable recurrent or metastatic setting. Systemic therapy which was completed more than 180 days prior to randomization, if given as part of multimodal treatment for locally advanced disease, is allowed.
  • Patients who have measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1 as determined by the site and confirmed by BICR. Tumor lesions situated in a previously irradiated area may be considered measurable, if progression has been demonstrated in such lesions disease by RECIST 1.1.
  • All patients must provide a tumor tissue sample (formalin fixed paraffin embedded \[FFPE\] blocks or both slides and curls) from archival tissue. Alternatively, a fresh biopsy sample could be provided if a biopsy sample is performed as part of the patient's standard clinical practice before the first dose of trial treatment. The sample should be preferably derived from a current site of metastatic or recurrent disease. Otherwise, a sample from the primary tumor can be submitted.

Key Exclusion Criteria:

Medical conditions:

  • Patients present primary tumor site of nasopharynx (any histology).
  • Patients with another primary malignancy that has not been in complete remission for at least 2 years, with the exception of those with a negligible risk of metastasis or death (such as adequately treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix, non-invasive basal or non-invasive squamous cell skin cancer, localized prostate cancer, non-invasive superficial bladder cancer or breast ductal carcinoma in situ).

Prior/concomitant therapy:

  • Patients who have received or currently receive the following therapy/medication:

1. Chronic systemic immunosuppressive treatment including corticosteroid treatment (prednisone >10 mg daily orally \[PO\] or intravenously \[IV\], or equivalent) in the 7 days prior to the first dose of trial treatment.
2. Prior treatment with other immune-modulating agents that was (a) within fewer than 4 weeks (28 days) or five half-lives of the agent (whichever is longer) prior to the first dose of BNT113, or (b) associated with immune-mediated AEs that have not resolved prior to the first dose of BNT113 or that pose an additional risk of on-trial complications, per investigator's assessment, or c) associated with toxicity that resulted in discontinuation of the immune-modulating agent and that poses an additional risk of on-trial complications, per investigator's assessment.
3. Prior treatment with live attenuated vaccines within 4 weeks before the first dose of BNT113.
4. Prior treatment with an investigational drug (including investigational vaccines) within 4 weeks or five half-lives of the agent (whichever is longer) before the planned first dose of BNT113.
5. Ongoing treatment with therapeutic PO or IV antibiotics. Note: Patients receiving prophylactic antibiotics (e.g., for prevention of a urinary tract infection or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) may be enrolled.
  • Prior treatment with anti-cancer immunomodulating agents, such as blockers of programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1), PD-L1, tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 9 (TNRSF9, 4 1BB, CD137), OX 40, therapeutic vaccines, cytokine treatments, or any investigational agent within 4 weeks or five half-lives of the agent (whichever is longer) before the first dose of BNT113.
  • Treatment with non-systemic anti-cancer therapy (e.g., radiotherapy or surgery) within 2 weeks prior to randomization. Note: Prior treatment with bone resorptive therapy, such as bisphosphonates (e.g., pamidronate, zoledronic acid) and denosumab, is allowed.

NOTE: Other protocol defined Inclusion/Exclusion criteria may apply.

Study Design

Enrollment

350 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Part A (Safety Run-In) - BNT113 + Pembrolizumab

Safety Run-In Phase to confirm the safety and tolerability at the selected dose range level of BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab.

experimental: Part B (Randomized phase) - BNT113 + Pembrolizumab

BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab.

active comparator: Part B (Randomized phase) - Pembrolizumab monotherapy

Pembrolizumab monotherapy.

Interventions

BNT113

IV injection

Pembrolizumab

IV infusion

Primary outcome measure

  • Part A - Occurrence of treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) - BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab [ Time Frame: up to 27 months ]
  • Part B - Overall survival (OS) [ Time Frame: up to 48 months ]
  • Part B - Progression-free survival (PFS) [ Time Frame: up to 48 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

BioNTech clinical trials patient information

+49 6131 9084patients@biontech.de

Locations

UCLA Cancer Care

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095

Yale University

Recruiting

New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06511

The George Washington Cancer Center

Recruiting

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20052

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Recruiting

Miami, Florida, United States, 33136

Winship Cancer Institute

Recruiting

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322

Norton Cancer Institute

Recruiting

Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 40241

Tufts Medical Center

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02111

Massachusetts General Hospital

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114

The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center

Recruiting

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, 87131

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Recruiting

Long Island City, New York, United States, 11101

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Recruiting

New York, New York, United States, 10029

Montefiore Medical Center

Recruiting

The Bronx, New York, United States, 10467

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center

Recruiting

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45219

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Recruiting

Houston, Texas, United States, 77030

Cross Cancer Institute

Recruiting

Edmonton, Canada, T6G 1Z2

British Columbia Cancer Agency

Recruiting

Kelowna, Canada, V1Y 5L3

Jewish General Hospital

Recruiting

Montreal, Canada, H3T 1E2

McGill University Health Centre

Recruiting

Montreal, Canada, H4A 3J1

More Information

Sponsor

BioNTech SE

Last update posted

Jul 21, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • Cancer vaccine
  • RNA vaccine
  • HNSCC
  • BNT113
  • Pembrolizumab
  • HPV16
  • Metastatic
  • Unresectable
  • Recurrent
  • Head and neck
  • mRNA vaccine
  • HPV-positive
  • Head and neck cancer

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by BioNTech SE on 2026-07-21.