BioNTech Se (NASDAQ:BNTX) and the European Investment Banks (EIB) have finalized a debt financing agreement of €100 million to support the development of the company’s BNT162 COVID-19 Vaccine program.
BioNTech receives funding top expand COVID-19 vaccine development program
The deal will allow an expansion of the manufacturing capacity of BioNTech to enable it to ramp up production and supply the vaccine across the globe fast in the wake of the pandemic. All this will be conducted at the risk of the company as clinical studies continue. BioNTech is the first company in Europe to enter clinical testing of a coronavirus vaccine after it commenced clinical studies in Germany in April and the US at the beginning of May.
BNT162 is the company’s COVID19 development program, and it is among the broadest programs globally, with four vaccine candidates currently being tested. Its vaccine candidates are mRNA vaccines the comprise messenger RNA, which gives human cells instructions to produce an immunogen or target protein. The target protein will then activate the body’s immune response, thus protecting against a virus.
The objective of the vaccine is to stimulate the body’s immune system to produce a long-lasting protective antibody and T cell reactions against the virus. As a result, this will result in the prevention of infection once exposed to the SARS-CoV-2. mRNA vaccines are novel new vaccine class with high versatility potential as well as safety profiles. BioNTech managed to bring its first vaccine candidate for the concept to clinical trials in less than 3-months. Safety, flexibility, and speed are very important in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BioNTech’s vaccine instrumental to the delivery of vaccine candidate
After completion of certain milestones, the debt financing from EIB will be disbursed in two €50 million tranches. The European Fund for Strategic Investments is backing the investment. The company’s COO and CFO Sierk Poetting indicated that they have made investments in developing their vaccine platform in the last 12 years. The platform has been instrumental in the rapid development of a coronavirus vaccine in response to the pandemic.
