COVID-19 vaccine developer to receive billions to develop new cancer drug

Biontech, a German pharmaceutical company known for its COVID-19 vaccine, is betting on the development of new cancer drugs and expects billions of dollars in investments in the coming months. About writes german weekly magazine Spiegel.

In the second quarter of 2025, the company strengthened the key areas of its oncology strategy, said co-founder and CEO Ugur Shahin.

First of all, it is a partnership with the American Bristol Myers Squibb to jointly develop and commercialize the promising antibody BNT327.

Under the agreement, Biontech will receive an upfront payment of $1.5 billion in the third quarter. To date, more than 20 clinical trials of the drug for more than 10 tumor types have been planned or launched.

This year, a key Phase 3 trial for aggressive breast cancer will start, and late-stage trials for lung cancer are underway.

In addition, Biontech plans to acquire its former competitor, Tübingen-based Curevac, for $1.25 billion to strengthen its mRNA technology capabilities.

In August, the company will launch a new COVID-19 vaccine in the EU, adapted to the current version of the virus, developed jointly with Pfizer. In the US, the drug is pending regulatory approval.

Although the demand for coronavirus vaccines has fallen significantly, Biontech plans to invest €2.6-2.8 billion in research and development in 2025, up from €2.3 billion last year.

In the second quarter of 2025, the company's revenue increased to €260.8 million (compared to €128.7 million last year), and the loss more than halved to €386.6 million from almost €808 million in 2024.

• In August 2024, it was reported that the lung cancer vaccine tested for the first time in public.
• To clinical trials seven countries have joined: USA, UK, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Turkey.