Sanofi invests €80m and extends collaboration agreement with BioNTech

BioNTech, a biotechnology company focused on individualized immunotherapies, will continue to collaborate with Sanofi on a co-developed immunotherapy candidate.

Sanofi and BioNTech’s investigational therapy is an mRNA mixture encoding immunomodulatory cytokines directly injected into the tumor.

According to the companies, the administration directly into the tumor microenvironment stimulates innate and adaptive immune responses against tumors. By doing so, potential toxicities are avoided that are often related to systemic administration of immuno-modulatory therapeutics.

Sanofi will invest €80m ($91.5m) in BioNTech equity through this deal. A spokesperson for BioNTech told us, “The equity investment signifies a deepening of our existing relationship with Sanofi.”​

This collaboration follows the company’s decision to exercise one of its option rights under a 2015 research agreement with Sanofi. Per the 2015 agreement, Sanofi and BioNTech worked to co-develop, and co-commercialize the product candidate now entering clinical testing.

By extending the research collaboration and equity investment, BioNTech and Sanofi will work together to bring successful programs through to commercialization.