Bristol Myers agrees up to $11.1 billion deal with BioNTech to shake up cancer immunotherapy
Bristol Myers
Squibb has agreed to pay up to $11.1 billion to partner with Germany's
BioNTech
and develop the latter's next-generation cancer immunotherapy, which could take on rival Merck & Co's best-selling drug Keytruda.
The deal, which includes $3.5 billion in unconditional payments, underpins BioNTech's ambition to continue a costly long-term focus on experimental cancer treatments and show that its success as
Pfizer
's
COVID-19 vaccine
partner was not a one-off achievement.
It also underscores a push across the pharma sector to master a new dual mechanism of action in oncology that activates the immune system - similar to an established drug class including Merck & Co's Keytruda - but which also cuts a tumour's blood supply.
BioNTech's German-listed shares surged 16.7% by 1236 GMT to a six-week high.
The two companies said in separate statements that the U.S. group will co-develop and co-commercialize BioNTech's drug, BNT327, for multiple solid tumour types.
Live Events
BioNTech's CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin said the collaboration will serve "to accelerate and broadly expand BNT327's development to fully realize its potential."
The companies said in presentation slides that Bristol Myers was bringing global networks in clinical development and manufacturing to the partnership, among other benefits.
BioNTech said in a statement that the partners were seeking to set a new standard of care in the cancer market segment, now dominated by so-called checkpoint inhibitors including Keytruda with $29.5 billion in 2024 sales.
Western drugmakers have struck a host of deals to win access to the new drug technology, known as PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibodies, which was pioneered in China.
Pfizer last month partnered with China's 3SBio , paying $1.25 billion upfront and up to another $4.8 billion depending on developmental achievements.
Merck & Co, whose Keytruda business is under threat from the sector's development push, in November last year licensed an early-stage cancer drug from China-based LaNova Medicines for up to $3.3 billion.
"We are now starting to see an industry vote of confidence in the differentiation of this novel mechanism," BMO Capital Markets analysts said in a note.
They welcomed BioNTech "partnering with a big pharma name to help manage a broad development plan and potential commercialization".
Shares in Instil Bio, which is working with China's ImmuneOnco on a similar compound, soared 24% in U.S. trade on Monday.
Summit Therapeutics and China's Akeso have formed another partnership in the development race with a drug candidate called ivonescimab.
BioNTech took full ownership of BNT327 through the acquisition of China's Biotheus earlier this year for $800 million upfront and up to $150 million contingent on development achievements.
It previously held certain rights in the drug under a 2023 collaboration deal.
In addition to an initial payment of $1.5 billion, Bristol plans to pay BioNTech $2 billion in non-contingent anniversary payments through 2028. BioNTech may also earn up to $7.6 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, Bristol said.
The companies will share global profits and losses from the drug equally, and joint development and manufacturing costs will also be shared on a 50/50 basis, with some exceptions.
BNT327 is being tested as a first-line treatment in extensive stage small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. More than 1,000 patients have been treated with the drug to date.
Economic Times WhatsApp channel
)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
TOI Yogathon: Asanas, Awareness & a Whole Lot of Zen
1 2 Nagpur: The lush lawns of Chitnavis Centre transformed into a vibrant stretch of mats and mindfulness as over 500 yoga enthusiasts gathered for the TOI Yogathon 2025, organised by The Times of India in association with the Raisoni Group and presented by Max Healthcare, to mark International Yoga Day . The event began with pre-dawn warm-ups and progressed into a dynamic session of asanas, meditation, and wellness talks under the open sky. Participants—from tourists to toddlers—embraced the ancient Indian discipline not just as a fitness routine, but as a holistic way of life. Leading the main session, fitness coach Madhumita Ghurbe stressed the need to integrate yoga into daily life. "People often treat yoga like a one-off workout, but the true benefits emerge when it becomes part of your lifestyle—along with good sleep and balanced nutrition," she told the enthusiastic crowd. The audience included people of all age groups—students, homemakers, professionals, senior citizens, and tourists. Among them was Sven Gruel, a German national, who stumbled upon the event online and decided to attend. "Seeing people of all ages practice yoga together in India, the land of its origin, was incredibly fulfilling," he said. The event featured a spectacular yoga pyramid display by children from Chakrasan Sports Association, drawing applause for their grace and balance. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending Local Enterprise Accounting Software [Click Here] Accounting ERP Click Here Undo Members of Sarvodaya Health Club began their morning with guided meditation and warm-ups, setting a tranquil tone. "This was our first time attending such a public yoga event. After months of regular practice, we've experienced real health benefits," said Vijaya Chandrekapure, a Sarvodaya participant. For many, Yogathon was a reminder of the importance of physical well-being. "We're mentally so active but physically negligent. Yoga helped me bring that imbalance to light," said Sayali Panchabudhe, an MBA student. Her peer Harshal Bhiwapurkar added, "It was eye-opening to learn how internal and external health are interlinked." Real estate professional Sunil Tidke said he turned to yoga to deal with body aches. "Meditation especially helped ease my stress. Watching my daughter perform today was the highlight," he said. Several local walking and fitness groups participated in the Yogathon. Members of the Gorewada Morning Walk Group called it "a rare and enriching opportunity" to break their routine and join a larger wellness movement. The event saw attendance from a wide cross-section of community leaders and dignitaries. Among them were Dr Nilesh Agrawal and Medical Superintendent Dr Santosh Tiwari of Max Healthcare, Sharad Suryawanshi of Krida Bharti. They were joined by several notable figures from various community and social organizations, including Tarun Sharma, president of Lions Club; Anjali Mantri, president of the Marwari Ladies Wing; and Prachi Agrawal, secretary of the same wing. Manali Arora, founder of Dhakkad Group, and Ganesh Bamdekar, secretary of Telugu Samaj, were also present. The Sindhi Samaj was represented by its president Manohar Motsinghani, while Roshan Wakode, president of Raj Towers, and Nilesh Somkuwar, owner of ABS Fitness Gym, were among the local representatives in attendance. Other dignitaries included Ravi Mahulkar, president of Mind Fitness Club; Chandrapal Sonatakke, president of Vittal Rukmani Apartment; Mahesh Chopde, assistant professor at GS College of Economics; and Gauri Jadhav, principal of Base School. The Yogathon concluded with a collective meditation, echoing the theme of this year's celebration: Yoga for Harmony and Healing.
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Commercial Real Estate Distress Is Spreading: Credit Weekly
(Bloomberg) -- The pain in US commercial real estate credit continues to bubble to the surface after a surge in borrowing costs and the rise of work from home left lenders vulnerable to losses. Delinquencies continue to increase, though the rate has moderated, researcher Green Street said this past week. Distress is also climbing, rising 23% to more than $116 billion at the end of March from a year earlier, data compiled by MSCI Real Capital Analytics show. That's the highest in more than a decade. Investors including Victor Khosla of Strategic Value Partners LLC have warned that debt maturities will lead to a 'tsunami' of problems for US offices in particular. There are signs that's spreading. The past-due and nonaccrual rate for commercial real estate portfolios reached the highest since 2014 earlier this year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. wrote in a report last month, citing multifamily as an increasing source of pain. Past-due and nonaccrual loans are so far past due that banks have stopped booking interest owed because they doubt they'll ever receive it. Policy uncertainty, meanwhile, is also holding back activity in the underlying market as businesses delay decisions across districts, the Federal Reserve noted in its May Beige Book survey. For example, some of the reserve banks stated that demand for warehouses was affected by the potential impact of tariffs. Click here to listen to a podcast on the dangers facing private debt funds when the cycle turns The proposed Section 899 'revenge tax' in President Donald Trump's tax-and-spending bill could also 'trigger wider foreign investor pullbacks, impacting all US real estate lenders,' said Harsh Hemnani, a senior analyst at Green Street. German commercial property lender Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG announced this past week that it's quitting the US market and will wind down, securitize or sell its €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) portfolio there, warning it could make a loss this year due to the expected cost of the decision. Still, 'the timing of the exit likely indicates a belief that current market conditions offer a favorable window for divestment' amid improved liquidity and competition in the debt market, Hemnani said. That's in part because direct lenders have been raising more capital to invest in CRE, a trend that's causing some wariness. On Thursday, the Financial Stability Board cautioned that shadow lending to the industry globally 'may amplify and transmit shocks to banks.' Some traditional lenders continue to kick the can down the road in the US rather than take impairments. The wall of CRE debt continues to rise, in part because some credit providers have extended the duration of loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Tuesday. Another headwind for traditional lenders is large unrealized losses on securities portfolios that they're holding to maturity or seeking to offload, with the FDIC saying last month that the losses stand at more than $410 billion. CRE is likely to be a similar source of pain. Loss rates on commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities suggest the unrealized losses on banks' mortgage books are likely to be as large or larger than in securities, academics including Lawrence White of New York University's Stern School of Business wrote last week. --With assistance from John Gittelsohn and Patrick Clark. More stories like this are available on
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
‘Forthcoming mass extinction will be the first one engineered by humans'
Chennai: If one were to write the history of humankind from a climatic perspective, it would have a pre-2024 era and a post-2024 era. A rapid increase in carbon levels in the atmosphere posed serious threats to the environment, calling for immediate redress, Poovulagin Nanbargal coordinator G Sundarrajan said here on Saturday. In the last 10,000 years, the current juncture of existence was the most crucial as humankind faced five risks simultaneously for the first time — climate change, mass extinction, spread of diseases/infections such as Covid-19, pollution, and inequality. "There have been mass extinctions before as well. But the forthcoming mass extinction [of a species] will be the first one to be engineered by humans," Sundarrajan said at an editors' meet on climate change, organised at Anna Centenary Library. He stressed the need for holistic coverage of climate change by the media and offered suggestions to spread awareness among the public. He called for setting up a "climate desk" in all media organisations to come out with news stories pertaining to climate change. "All forms of news must be approached from a climate change angle, and news about the marginalized, who are most affected by global warming, must be given more coverage," it said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Forget Furosemide, Use This Household Item To Help Drain Edema Fluid WellnessGuide Learn more Undo Projects and technologies proposed as solutions to climate change must be critically examined for their authenticity. False solutions must be identified and called out, he said. Melting of glaciers, rise in global average temperature in a short time, and gender and caste aspects of climate change were discussed at the meeting. The event was held in coordination with the Chennai Press Club. Poovulagin Nanbargal presented one copy of each of its published books to the club's president, Suresh Vedanayagam.
