A legacy of scientific discovery
Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D., Prof. Özlem Türeci, M.D., and Prof. Christoph Huber, M.D. co-founded BioNTech in 2008 to revolutionize immunotherapy with individualized cancer therapies. Throughout the decades of research, the pipeline expanded and now includes several platform technologies and candidates with synergistic potential, targeting cancer and infectious diseases.
At BioNTech, we have been conducting fundamental research of mRNA technologies in the field of individualized cancer medicine for more than a decade. Some of our colleagues, including our co-founders, have been researching and developing mRNA-based vaccines for more than 25 years. The key problem of mRNA was a missing genetic engineering process so that mRNA vaccines trigger a strong and precisely targeted response by the immune system after injection.
For over two decades, Sahin, Türeci and their team have systematically studied the biology and pharmacology of RNA vaccines and identified multiple strategies to increase intracellular stability of RNA vaccines and improve the efficiency of protein translation in human dendritic cells which are the most potent stimulators of the immune system. This way, they established different layers of mRNA vaccine optimization, including: the optimization of the various structural backbone elements of mRNA molecules, ways to utilize uridine-based and nucleoside-modified mRNA chemistries as well as different lipid-based compositions and administration routes to deliver mRNA.
These discoveries and various clinical studies have resulted in a diversified toolbox from which we can choose depending on what we want to achieve. We can create investigational mRNA-based vaccines either to induce strong T cell responses in cancer patients (Sahin et al., Nature, 2020) or with the aim of suppressing autoimmunity (Krienke et al., Science, 2021). A small part of this diversified toolbox of discoveries and technological optimizations has been used for our COVID-19 vaccine.
Taking on the world’s most pressing health challenges
While BioNTech, together with its partner Pfizer, has led the global COVID-19 vaccine effort and made great strides in individualized cancer treatments, its story is just beginning. BioNTech’s portfolio contains more than 25 product candidates in clinical trials.
In pursuit of changing the treatment paradigm with individualized cancer therapies, our pipeline encompasses oncology product candidates including individualized and off-the-shelf mRNA-based therapies, innovative chimeric antigen receptor T cells, bispecific checkpoint immunomodulators, targeted cancer antibodies and small molecules.
Succeeding through global partnerships
BioNTech works closely with some of the world’s most established pharmaceutical companies and non-profit organizations to drive breakthroughs in medical science, therapeutical innovations, and improvement of quality of care. We have established a broad set of relationships with multiple global pharmaceutical collaborators, including Genmab, Sanofi, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, Regeneron, Genevant, Fosun Pharma, and Pfizer.
A global immunotherapy powerhouse
We aim to bring novel oncology and infectious disease therapies to the market. BioNTech is also exploring how to apply its technology to advancements in treating allergies, inflammatory diseases, and regenerative medicine.
