BioNTech pays 20 million euros in advance, chooses equity stake in Ryvu in cancer drug licensing deal

German BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) and Poland-based Ryvu Therapeutics Signed a partnership and licensing agreement for small molecule programs targeting immunomodulators in cancer.

The global partnership will consist of two parts: BioNTech will receive an exclusive, global license to develop and commercialization of Ryvu’s portfolio of STING agonists as independent small molecules, including as monotherapy and in combination therapy.

In addition, BioNTech and Ryvu will jointly undertake drug discovery and research projects to develop a variety of small-molecule programs targeting proprietary targets selected by BioNTech, primarily focusing on immunomodulation in oncology, with potential applications in other disease areas.

The companies say BioNTech has a global development licensing option and the right to commercialize programs at the development stage.

Under the agreement, BioNTech will pay 20 million euros in advance in exchange for some rights to Ryvu’s portfolio of STING agonists as independent small molecules and for certain rights and licensing options for multiple programs. small molecules as part of a multi-target research collaboration. In addition, BioNTech has committed an equity investment of 20 million euros.

BioNTech will fund discovery, research and development activities, including Ryvu’s discovery and research activities. Ryvu will be eligible to receive development, regulatory, and commercialization milestone payments, plus royalties on any products commercialized under the partnership.

“Small molecules that target novel immune signaling pathways have great potential to increase the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy,” said Ugur Sahin, Co-Founder and CEO of BioNTech. “The collaboration with Ryvu gives us the opportunity to supplement our immunotherapy system with a portfolio of potent immunomodulatory molecules.”