The Mainz-based company opens further locations worldwide, now also in Australia.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt Biontech wants to further globalize its research and production. As part of a partnership with the state of Victoria, the biotech company is planning to set up its own research unit in Australia. The aim is to establish a joint mRNA research and innovation center for innovative medicines in the metropolis of Melbourne in order to strengthen translational research from early development to application, Biontech said.
In addition, the Mainz-based company is planning to establish an mRNA production facility there, based on the company’s own Biontainer solution. These are prefabricated mRNA production systems that are installed in a standard container and can be delivered with this. The material produced in this way is used for the clinical development of product candidates.
Biontech is currently generating double-digit billions in revenue with the successful Covid vaccine Comirnaty. With the current commitment, the Mainz-based company is strengthening its ambitions to become a global leader in the field of immunotherapies. Unlike most biotech companies, Biontech is also building a global research network.
Most recently, the company also held talks with the Israeli government about the possible establishment of a research and production site in Israel and about cooperation with local research institutions.
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According to the company, the aim is to gain increased access to interesting early research projects through such commitments. “Australia’s academic research landscape is excellent and we look forward to working with some of the world’s leading scientists. Together we want to strengthen the Australian mRNA ecosystem and develop potential, novel therapies and vaccines for people worldwide,” said Biontech CEO Ugur Sahin about the partnership agreed in Australia. Biontech will support this with expertise and act in an advisory capacity.
The partnership also includes the research and development of new therapies, including mRNA-based product candidates for indications with high unmet medical needs, for example in oncology. The planned center in Melbourne should thus become the company’s third international location for production and research and development (R&D).
Outside of Germany, Biontech is currently represented with its own research units in Cambridge (Massachusetts) and in Vienna. The company plans to set up its own mRNA production facilities in Singapore and Rwanda.
High financial leeway
Biontech is thus taking a much more offensive approach to the global expansion of its research than most other biotech companies. Munich-based Morphosys, for example, which is also pursuing greater ambitions in oncology, concentrated its research at the company’s headquarters in Munich after taking over the US company Constellation.
The direct mRNA competitor Moderna has so far concentrated its R&D activities largely in the greater Boston area, but announced a few weeks ago that it would set up a production and research center in Great Britain.
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Both Moderna and Biontech have enormous financial leeway to expand their research thanks to high revenues from the Covid vaccine business. At Biontech, the financial reserves in the form of liquid funds and trade accounts receivable added up to almost 20 billion euros in the middle of the year.
The company uses these resources to advance a broad program of new developments in both vaccines and oncology. In cancer research, the Mainz-based researchers use other technologies such as cell therapies and antibodies in addition to mRNA. In total, Biontech tested 18 product candidates in 23 clinical studies. Up to five further studies are to start in the second half of 2022.
More: Biontech considers research and manufacturing site in Israel