Uğur Şahin, the CEO of BioNTech, and his wife Özlem Türeci will leave their positions at the biopharma by the end of this year to start a new company focused on “next generation mRNA innovations.” The co-founders founded mRNA-focused BioNTech in 2008 and have led the company to significant financial success through its partnership with Pfizer for the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty. However, they will be handing over the baton as BioNTech focuses on becoming a “fully integrated immunotherapy powerhouse” with multiple product launches by 2030.
The new entity will receive gifted mRNA tech from BioNTech and secure licenses to this technology in exchange for a minority stake and milestones payments. Şahin described his departure as an opportunity to “hand over the baton,” saying that he is ready to become pioneers once again. The move has caught investors off guard, with BioNTech’s stock sinking 20% after their co-founders announced their departure.
Analysts at Leerink Partners see this as a logical step for BioNTech but also recognize it injects uncertainty into the company’s portfolio of late-stage oncology assets. Shahin and his wife Türeci have been involved in biopharma since 2001, founding Ganymed Pharmaceuticals, which they sold to Astellas for $460 million. This departure marks a significant change in BioNTech’s leadership and may impact its future growth prospects.
Source: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/biontechs-ceo-cmo-prep-departure-set-next-gen-mrna-company