BioNTech to Acquire Kite’s TCR Platform for Cell Therapy Pipeline

BioNTech recently entered into an agreement with Kite, a Gilead subsidiary, to acquire its solid tumor neoantigen T cell receptor (TCR) R&D platform and clinical manufacturing facility to strengthen its cell therapy pipeline. 

The facility, located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, will provide capacity for clinical trials in the US and support BioNTech’s growing therapy pipeline, including cancer candidates based on CAR-T Cell amplifying mRNA vaccine, NEOSTIM platforms, and a neoantigen TCR program. 

The facility will complement BioNTech’s existing cell therapy manufacturing facility in Germany. 

“The development of individualized cancer therapies is at the core of our work at BioNTech. The acquisition of the Kite facility and its individualized TCR platform allows us to accelerate the clinical development of our cell therapies in the U.S. and advance at the forefront of individualized cell therapies,” Ugur Sahin, MD, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said in the announcement.

“It also strengthens our presence in the U.S., building on our successful integration of adoptive T-cell and neoantigen TCR therapies as part of our acquisition of Neon Therapeutics last year,” Sahin continued. 

TCR therapy is a type of cellular immunotherapy designed to redirect the patient’s immune system to recognize and target tumors, a Gilead spokesperson explained. This type of therapy involves engineering an individual’s T cells to express TCRs that can recognize peptide fragments from intracellular and extracellular antigens. 

Overall, TCR therapies may be more effective in the treatment of solid tumors. 

Kite’s neoantigen TCR platform boosts development of TCR therapies designed to target neoantigens on a patient’s tumor and will extend BioNTech’s efforts in individualized neoantigen targeting programs.

Kite’s employees at the Germany facility will be offered employment with BioNTech before the agreement closes. BioNTech will also further invest in the site and hire additional personnel to support its expanding pipeline.

Under the terms of the agreement, BioNTech will provide Kite an upfront payment to purchase its individualized solid tumor neoantigen TCR discovery platform, its Germany research and development, and its clinical manufacturing facility. 

Notably, Kite’s facility in Frederick, Maryland, is not part of the purchase agreement. 

“In order to serve more patients that need cell therapy today, Kite is rapidly growing both through global expansion and seeking new indications for our existing approved CAR T-cell therapies. This transaction will enable us to focus our energies and investment on accelerating the reach of our current CAR T-cell therapies and midterm pipeline,” said Christi Shaw, chief executive officer at Kite.