BioNTech R&D escapes to
London – a wake up call

In its press release, BioNTech confirmed it will invest up to £1 billion (about €1.2 billion) over the next ten years to expand its research and development activities for innovative medicines in the United Kingdom. The expansion includes the creation of two new R&D hubs—one in Cambridge and another in London, which will also house an AI hub. The UK government will support this initiative with a grant of up to £129 million over the same period, which is described as one of the largest grants of its kind in UK history for a pharmaceutical company. This agreement builds on BioNTech’s existing multi-year partnership with the UK government, particularly in accelerating clinical trials for personalized mRNA cancer immunotherapies. Comment: BioNTech’s pivot to the UK is more than a business decision; it serves as a stark signal that Germany, and the European Union more broadly, must confront entrenched regulatory, political, and talent-related challenges...