BioNTech is clearly impressed with what it has seen with partner Biotheus' bispecific antibody for cancer, opting to buy the company outright to get full control of the drug.The two companies entered into a partnership a year ago to develop Biotheus' PD-L1xVEGF-A bispecific PM8002/BNT327, with BioNTech taking rights to the drug outside Greater China, the Zhuhai-based biotech's home market.The antibody – which is in phase 2 testing – is viewed as a potential successor to MSD's $25 billion PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab).It is in the same class as Summit Therapeutics and partner Akeso's ivonescimab, which made a splash with new data at the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in September that showed it was more effective than MSD's drug in a Chinese PD-L1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population.BioNTech said that BNT327 has the 'potential to replace current checkpoint inhibitor standard of care treatments for solid tumours.' It is paying $800 million to acquire all of Biotheus' issued share capital and up to $150 million in potential milestone payments.Taking control of Biotheus will give BioNTech worldwide rights to BNT327, including in China which is the world's second-largest pharma market, as well as a pipeline of other bispecific antibodies with potential in cancer, the Chinese biotech's drug discovery and development engine for antibodies as well as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and a manufacturing facility.That continues the German biotech's drive to move beyond its main focus on mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, which came to the fore with the development of Pfizer-partnered COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty – into protein- and small molecule-based drugs and cell therapies.It paid $55 million upfront with up to $1 billion at the back.

BioNTech显然对其合作伙伴Biotheus的双特异性癌症抗体印象深刻，选择直接收购该公司以完全控制该药物。一年前，两家公司建立了合作关系，开发Biotheus的PD-L1xVEGF-a双特异性PM8002/BNT327，BioNTech在珠海生物技术国内市场大中华区以外取得了该药物的使用权。该抗体正在进行第二阶段测试，被视为MSD 250亿美元PD-1抑制剂Keytruda（pembrolizumab）的潜在替代品。它与Summit Therapeutics和合作伙伴Akeso的ivonescimab处于同一级别，后者在9月的2024年世界肺癌会议（WCLC）上发布了新数据，表明它在中国PD-L1阳性非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）人群中比MSD的药物更有效。BioNTech说，BNT327“有可能取代目前的检查点抑制剂治疗实体瘤的标准治疗方法。”它将斥资8亿美元收购Biotheus的所有已发行股本，并支付高达1.5亿美元的潜在里程碑付款。控制Biotheus将使BioNTech在全球范围内拥有BNT327的权利，包括在世界第二大制药市场中国，以及其他具有癌症潜力的双特异性抗体管道，中国生物技术的抗体药物发现和开发引擎以及抗体-药物偶联物（ADC）和制造设施。这继续推动了德国生物技术公司超越其主要关注基于mRNA的疫苗和治疗方法的努力，这种疫苗和治疗方法是随着辉瑞公司合作的新型冠状病毒疫苗Comirnaty（COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty）的开发而脱颖而出的，即基于蛋白质和小分子的药物和细胞疗法。它前期支付了5500万美元，后期支付了10亿美元。