BioNTech to purchase Kite manufacturing facility and cell therapy R&D platform

The acquisition will add manufacturing footprint in the US enabling the company to develop its pipeline of novel cancer product candidates

BioNTech has agreed to purchase Kite’s solid tumour neoantigen T cell receptor (TCR) R&D platform and R&D and clinical manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg, MD.

The facility will provide BioNTech with production capacity to accelerate the clinical development of its cell therapies in the US. It will also complement the company's existing cell therapy manufacturing facility in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.

BioNTech will use the facility to develop its expanding pipeline of novel cell therapies, including cancer product candidates based on its CAR-T Cell amplifying mRNA vaccine (CARVac) and NEOSTIM platforms, as well as the newly acquired individualised neoantigen TCR program.

According to Ugur Sahin, CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech, the facility will also strengthen the company's US presence, building on its integration of adoptive T-cell and neoantigen TCR therapies as part of its acquisition of Neon Therapeutics last year.

To support its growing cell therapy pipeline, BioNTech plans to further invest in the site including hiring additional personneul.

Kite, a company that focuses solely on cell therapy to treat and potentially cure cancer, says it remains focused on rapidly advancing current CAR T-Cell therapies to reach more patients and further optimise the therapeutic potential of cell therapy.