BioNTech founders to quit roles to start new venture

ISTANBUL

BioNTech’s Turkish-origin founders Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, celebrated for their pioneering COVID-19 vaccine, are stepping down from their leadership roles at the firm to launch a new venture dedicated to next-generation mRNA technology.

In a statement released by the Mainz-based company, BioNTech said that Chief Executive Officer Şahin and Chief Medical Officer Türeci will gradually transfer their responsibilities, with the transition expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The couple plans to establish a new company dedicated to advancing the new wave of mRNA-based therapies and technologies, while BioNTech will continue focusing on late-stage clinical development and its industrial pharmaceutical model.

Şahin said the couple hopes “to pioneer new paths once again.”

“Our vision has always been to translate science into tangible progress for patients,” he added.

The announcement triggered an immediate market reaction, with BioNTech shares falling by nearly 18 percent on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The company’s supervisory board has launched a search process to identify successors for the two executives.

BioNTech said it would support the new venture by granting certain rights and providing access to elements of its mRNA technology platform, in exchange for a minority stake, milestone payments and future licensing fees.

Şahin and Türeci, children of Turkish immigrants to Germany, first met while studying medicine at the Saarland University Hospital in Homburg.

Prior to founding BioNTech in 2008 to develop mRNA-based cancer therapies, the pair established Ganymed Pharmaceuticals in 2001.

The new initiative will mark their third entrepreneurial venture. Its name, headquarters and legal structure have not yet been disclosed.

BioNTech rose to global prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when it redirected its resources to develop an mRNA vaccine in partnership with Pfizer, producing the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive regulatory approval.

The vaccine’s worldwide success generated billions of euros in revenue and rapidly transformed the firm from a small biotechnology start-up into a global biopharmaceutical player.