BioNTech Secures £129m UK Backing

BioNTech plans to invest up to £1bn over the next 10 years to broaden its research and development activities for innovative medicines in the United Kingdom, the company announced in 2023. The UK is offering generous funding to support the German pharmaceutical company’s planned billion-pound investment. The government will contribute up to £129 million (approximately €153 million) – an amount BioNTech says is the largest of its kind ever awarded to a pharmaceutical company in Britain. This grant is part of the UK’s broader mission to strengthen its life sciences sector and back innovation that could drive progress in medical science.

The agreement builds on an existing multi-year partnership between BioNTech and the UK government, aimed at accelerating clinical trials for personalised mRNA immunotherapies. It also focuses on establishing two new research and development (R&D) centres and a UK headquarters in London, which will house BioNTech’s artificial intelligence (AI) hub.

BioNTech plans to use the funding to support both R&D centres. The first will be located in Cambridge, with the second still in planning. The Cambridge facility will focus on genomics, oncology, structural biology, and regenerative medicine, and will accommodate more than 90 staff.

In addition, the company will merge its current London offices with its British AI subsidiary, InstaDeep, to form a new regional headquarters. The AI hub will continue to play a vital role in advancing BioNTech’s research capabilities through AI-powered medical innovation.