BioNTech Snaps Up Pancreatic Cancer Antibody, US Infrastructure

09 May 2019

• By John Davis

Europe’s largest private family-backed biotech adds to its antibody pipeline and its infrastructure in the US with assets from MabVax Therapeutics, in order to pioneer patient-specific immunotherapies for cancer and infections.

Pancreas — Pancreatic cancer is crying out for new approaches to therapy. • Source: Shutterstock

Europe’s largest privately held biotech, BioNTech SE, is adding to its clinical-stage product pipeline through the acquisition of antibody assets and US infrastructure from San Diego, CA-based MabVax Therapeutics Holdings Inc., in an agreement announced on 9 May. The acquisition will include the antibody, MVT-5873, in Phase I in patients with pancreatic cancer, and preclinical antibodies.

The Strüngmann family-backed BioNTech has more than 1,000 employees in Mainz and other sites in Germany, and the infrastructure acquired...