BioNTech
BioNTech SE (German pronunciation: [ˈbaɪɒnˌtek]) is a German biotechnology company dedicated to the development and manufacture of active immunotherapies for a patient-specific approach to the treatment of serious diseases. It researches drugs based on messenger RNA (mRNA) for use as individualized cancer immunotherapies, as vaccines against infectious diseases and as protein replacement therapies for rare diseases, and also engineered cell therapy, novel antibodies and small molecule immunomodulators as treatment options for cancer. The company developed an mRNA-based human therapeutic for intravenous administration, to bring individualized mRNA-based cancer immunotherapy to clinical trials and to establish its own manufacturing process.[1]
Traded as | NASDAQ: BNTX |
---|---|
ISIN | US09075V1026 |
Industry | Biotechnology |
Founded | 2008 |
Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 5 |
Key people | |
Services | Immunotherapy |
Number of employees | 1,323 |
Website | biontech |
History
BioNTech was founded in 2008 based on research by Uğur Şahin, Christoph Huber and Özlem Türeci. It has since been supported by a scientific advisory board under the direction of Rolf M. Zinkernagel.[1]
In September 2019, BioNTech signed an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop HIV and tuberculosis programs to identify and develop preclinical vaccine and immunotherapy candidates for the prevention of HIV and tuberculosis infections and for the long-term antiretroviral therapy-free remission of HIV diseases.[2]
In December 2019, the European Investment Bank and BioNTech announced that the company would receive funding of €50 million as part of the Investment Plan for Europe.[3] In June 2020, BioNTech received €250 million from Singapore's Temasek Holdings and other investors through a private placement of mandatory convertible bonds.[4]
Partnerships
Biopharmaceutical partners:[1]
- Genentech: research, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products containing neoepitope mRNA; including development candidates for individualized neoantigen-specific immunotherapy (iNeST).
- Sanofi: development and marketing of mRNA-based therapeutics for intratumoral application in solid tumors.
- Genmab: research, development and marketing of bispecific antibodies based on polypeptides against certain target combinations for the treatment of cancer.
- Genevant Sciences GmbH: development of mRNA-based protein replacement therapies for rare diseases.
- Eli Lilly and Company: research into new tumor target structures and associated T cell receptors.
- Bayer: development of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutic agents especially for use in animals.
- Pfizer: development of mRNA-based vaccines for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 prevention.
Other partners:[1]
- University of Pennsylvania: development and marketing of mRNA-based immunotherapies for the treatment of infectious diseases.[5]
- Translational Oncology Mainz (TRON): development of new diagnostics and medicines for the treatment of serious diseases.
- Siemens: strategic partnership to build a fully automated, paperless and digitized commercial cGMP manufacturing facility for individualized mRNA-based immunotherapy.
Research
Lines of research:[6]
- Oncology: BioNTech develops individualized cancer immunotherapies cancer immunotherapies from the patient-specific mutanome.
- mRNA therapeutics: BioNTech has developed several formats and formulations of mRNA for gene therapy. In the treatment of cancer, the protein produced is directed against target structures that stem directly from the mutations in the cancer cells. The first candidates have already entered drug discovery as cancer immunotherapeutics and vaccines against infectious diseases.[7]
- Engineered cell therapies: BioNTech is developing new cell therapies to modify the patient's T cells to target cancer-specific antigens, including two platforms to treat solid tumors: one for T cells with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T cells) and another for T cell receptor (TCR) programs. BioNTech is investigating the CAR-T candidate BNT211 which targets Claudin-6 (CLDN6), which is specific for solid tumors.
- Antibodies: BioNTech develops checkpoint immunomodulators and targeted cancer antibodies to modulate the patient's immune response to cancer and researches bispecific antibodies that act as dual immunomodulators.
- Small molecule immunomodulators: BioNTech researches small molecules to increase the activity of other active substances through immunomodulation.
- Infectious diseases: in August 2019, BioNTech signed an investment agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop immunotherapy for prevention or treatment of HIV, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.[2]
- Rare diseases
COVID-19 response
The company is working to develop the BNT162 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 with Pfizer[8] and Fosun.[9][10]
Pfizer and BioNTech signed contracts to supply 30 million doses of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for the United Kingdom,[11][12] 100 million doses for the United States[13] and 120 million doses for Japan,[14] if proven safe.
Locations
BioNTech's headquarters are in Mainz. The company operates three GMP-certified production facilities in Germany for the production of mRNA therapeutics and engineered cell therapies: BioNTech Innovative Manufacturing Services GmbH in Idar-Oberstein, BioNTech Small Molecules GmbH in Martinsried, BioNTech SE in Neuried. JPT Peptide Technologies GmbH in Berlin offers peptide-based services and products for various areas of biomedical research. BioNTech maintains a North American headquarters lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts[15] and opened another research lab in San Diego in 2019.[1]
References
- Form F-1 BioNTech SE (Report). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
- "The Gates Foundation sees BioNTech potential to 'dramatically reduce global HIV and tuberculosis'". The Pharma Letter. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- "Investment Plan for Europe: European Investment Bank to provide BioNTech with up to €100 million in debt financing for COVID-19 vaccine development and manufacturing" (Press release). European Commission. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Burger, Ludwig (29 June 2020). "Temasek-led investor group in $250 million vaccine bet on Germany's BioNTech". Reuters. Frankfurt. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- "Penn Medicine and BioNTech to Combine Efforts to Develop New mRNA Vaccines for Infectious Diseases" (Press release). Philadelphia: Penn Medicine. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- "Publications". BioNTech. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Sahin, U; Türeci, Ö (2018). "Personalized vaccines for cancer immunotherapy". Science. Band 359 (6382): 1355–1360. doi:10.1126/science.aar7112. PMID 29567706.
- Lovelace Jr., Berkeley (27 July 2020). "Pfizer and BioNTech began late-stage human trial for coronavirus vaccine Monday". CNBC. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- "BioNTech in China alliance with Fosun over coronavirus vaccine candidate". Reuters. Frankfurt. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Burger, Ludwig (22 April 2020). "Germany approves trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidate". Reuters. Berlin. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Gallagher, James (20 July 2020). "Coronavirus vaccine: UK government signs deals for 90 million doses". BBC News. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Smout, Alistair (20 July 2020). "Britain secures 90 million possible COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer/BioNTech, Valneva". Reuters. London. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Erman, Michael; Banerjee, Ankur (22 July 2020). "U.S. to pay Pfizer, BioNTech $1.95 billion for COVID-19 vaccine". Reuters. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Shakil, Ismail; Mishra, Manas (31 July 2020). "Pfizer, BioNTech to supply 120 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Japan". Reuters. Bengaluru. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- "BioNTech US". MassBio. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
External links
- Business data for BioNTech SE American Depository Receipts:
- Mutanome Engineered RNA Immuno-Therapy (MERIT) Project – EU-funded initiative
- BioNTech, official website
- Genentec. Individualized Neoantigen-Specific Immunotherapy (iNeST)
- Translational Oncology Mainz (TRON), official website