BioNTech to boost oncology offering with buy of Biotheus

Although it is seeing a downturn in sales and profits, German biotech BioNTech (Nasdaq: BNTX) is continuing to acquire assets with the cash pile it made through the covid pandemic, notably its Comirnaty vaccine that was developed with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

Today, BioNTech revealed a definitive agreement to acquire China-based Biotheus, a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel antibodies to address unmet medical needs of patients with oncological or inflammatory diseases, with which it has previously partnered.

With the acquisition, BioNTech will obtain full global rights to the late-stage clinical asset BNT327/PM8002, an investigational bispecific antibody targeting PD-L1 and VEGF-A. The transaction is part of BioNTech’s oncology strategy, aimed at enhancing the company’s capabilities to research, develop and commercialize combination therapies using BNT327/PM8002. Clinical trials with BNT327/PM8002 and the PD-(L)1 x VEGF bispecific class of drugs have demonstrated encouraging clinical activity in various tumor types including in patients with PD-L1-low and -negative tumors who have typically been less responsive to current checkpoint inhibitor treatments.