German BioNTech Acquires Chinese Pharmaceutical Company

The German biopharmaceutical company BioNTech has announced that it will acquire Chinese Biotheus, confirming plans to shift its focus from COVID-19 vaccines to innovative cancer therapies.

BioNTech will pay up to $950 million for Biotheus, including an upfront payment of $800 million, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

The acquisition will secure BioNTech global rights to the potential future drug BNT327, which is already in advanced clinical development, with ‘encouraging results’ from clinical trials, the German company highlighted.

The trials involved over 700 patients suffering from various types of tumors, and the results are encouraging, BioNTech reported.

“We believe that the active ingredient BNT327 could become the new standard in treating certain types of cancer,” said BioNTech co-founder and CEO Ugur Sahin.

The company has announced several studies on the efficacy of the active ingredient in treating lung and breast cancer by the end of this year and in 2025.

They also confirmed plans to obtain the first approval in 2026.

In August, management emphasized that they are turning to ‘non-COVID-19 related activities’, noting that in the second quarter, they directed as much as 90% of capital expenditure, out of a total of €525.6 million, towards oncology and preparations to combat infectious diseases.

“We are progressing towards our goal of becoming a company with approved drugs for cancer and infectious diseases,” Sahin said at that time.

From January to September, the total amount of investment was €1.64 billion, an increase of 36.3% compared to last year, according to the third-quarter report released earlier last week.

The acquisition of the Chinese company, which has about 300 employees, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, and the German company will also become the owner of a research and development center and a manufacturing facility in China.