BioNTech AG and Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, two premier German biotechology companies, announced today the joint- opening of a new approx. 10,000 square-meters (108,000 square-feet) headquarters and research facility. The new facility brings together 300 employees and is located in close proximity to academic institutions (Johannes-Gutenberg University), hospitals (University Medical Center) and cancer research institutions such as the leading translational oncology institute "TRON" with access to highly skilled scientists and clinicians as well as supercomputing infrastructure. The new building is among the largest privately held research facilities in Germany, which both companies - BioNTech and Ganymed - lease from their main investors Andreas and Thomas Strüngmann.
BioNTech and Ganymed scientists will work in state-of-the-art lab space on a range of pre-clinical and clinical programs mainly in the field of highly personalized cancer therapies:
Founded in 2008, BioNTech develops and produces individualized cancer immunotherapies with a focus on novel and disruptive technologies, such as mRNA-based biologicals or innovative antigen-receptor / T-cell-receptor therapies. BioNTech is organized into six fully-integrated companiesincluding a world-leading cGMP production site for gene and cell therapy and RNA therapeutic products. In 2013, BioNTech became the first company ever to start a fully individualized clinical program worldwide. BioNTech has 300 employees, of which over 200 will be based in the new research facility. "Our new presence in the heart of the German immunology research cluster represents an important milestone in our efforts to create a highly innovative product pipeline for our fight against cancer," said Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of BioNTech AG.
Ganymed - spin-off in 2001 from the universities of Mainz and Zurich - currently has 90 employees located in Mainz. Its highly selective antibody (IMAB362) against stomach / esophagus cancer is in advanced stages of clinical trials. After the majority of 21 patients treated in a phase IIa trial showed a significant slow-down of the cancer, Ganymed has now recruited 210 patients for a phase IIb trial. In addition, a second antibody (IMAB027) against ovary cancer entered phase I/II trials in early 2014. "Patients as well as all our external partners from industry and academics will benefit from our researchers and developers working closely together in an exciting new building, speeding up the translation of a late-stage immunology pipeline into novel drugs," added Özlem Türeci, M.D., Ph.D, CEO of Ganymed.
The grand opening was celebrated today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the presence of the Secretary of Commerce and Vice President of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Eveline Lemke, Minister of State for Education and Science, Doris Ahnen, Mayor Michael Ebeling as well as the investors Andreas and Thomas Strüngmann.
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