BioNTech signs deal with UK for personalised cancer therapies

BioNTech SE has signed a deal with the UK government to enrol up to 10,000 patients in clinical trials by the end of 2030 for personalised cancer therapies, the German drug maker said.

The multi-year collaboration is focused on cancer immunotherapies based on mRNA or other drug classes, infectious disease vaccines, and investments into expanding the company’s footprint in the UK, BioNTech said in a statement on Thursday.

Under the agreement, the parties plan to utilise UK’s clinical trial network, genomics and health data assets, aiming to enrol the first cancer patient in the second half of 2023, the company said.

BioNTech, which partnered with US pharmaceutical group Pfizer to develop a COVID vaccine, said it would open a research and development hub with more than 70 scientists in Cambridge.