Germany-based cancer immunotherapy developer BioNTech has filed for a $100m initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market that would allow pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Pfizer to exit.
BioNTech, a spinout from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, is working on the development of individualised immunotherapies to treat cancer and potentially other diseases.
Part of the IPO proceeds will fund clinical trials for three drug candidates respectively addressing advanced melanoma, breast cancer and HPV-related head and neck cancer.
Additional funds will support research and development for three more candidates, which are being developed in partnership with Sanofi and biotech producers Genentech and Genmab respectively. It also plans to advance additional candidates through phase 1 trials.
Investment and financial services group Fidelity Management & Research led BioNTech’s last round, a $325m series B in July 2019 that included MiraeAsset Financial Group, Redmile Group, Struengmann Family Office, Invus, Platinum Asset Management, Jebsen Capital, Steam Athena Capital, BVCF Management and unnamed new and existing backers.
Sanofi provided $91.5m in equity financing for the company in January this year in conjunction with the expansion of an existing R&D partnership, after Pfizer had supplied $120m in equity funding, upfront payment and research financing through an August 2018 partnership agreement.
The company had previously raised $270m in a January 2018 series A round led by Redmile that included Fidelity Management and Research, Invus, Janus Henderson Investors and various family offices.
Strüngmann Family Office and MIG Fonds supplied BioNTech’s initial funding, and medical device producer Salvia is also among its shareholders. Another pharmaceutical firm, Eli Lilly, invested $30m in BioNTech subsidiary Cell & Gene Therapies through a 2015 partnership agreement.
AT Impf, an entity owned by the Strüngmann family, owns a 50.2% majority share of BioNTech, whose other prominent investors are MIG (6.1%) and Medine, a holding vehicle for company CEO Ugur Sahin (18.8%).
JP Morgan Securities, BofA Securities, UBS Securities, SVB Leerink, Canaccord Genuity, Bryan, Garnier & Co, Berenberg Capital Markets, WR Securities, Kempen and Mirae Asset Securities are the underwriters for the offering.
The filing comes after reports in March this year that the company would target $800m in a forthcoming IPO but it is yet to set a price range.
