A phase I clinical trial of a bispecific antibody for the treatment of patients with small cell lung carcinoma and other neoplasms was recently initiated as a result of the first phase of the partnership between the companies.

Oxford's platforms are designed to discover novel therapeutic targets and engineer antibodies to those targets, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T, other T-cell and natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity therapeutics. The platform uses individual patient samples to help design antibodies and as diagnostic selection tools to increase the overall success of the product.

Under the agreement, Boehringer is responsible for the development and commercialization of antibody product candidates identified by the OGAP platform. Oxford will receive development and regulatory milestone payments and royalties on any future sales. To date, Boehringer has exercised two options under the initial agreement and has selected two therapeutic candidates for further development.