Pumis Acquired by BioNTech for $800 Million, Shocking the Chinese Biotechnology Sector

On November 13, 2024, Primis Biotechnology Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "Primis"), founded by former Cinda R&D senior executive Liu Xiaolin, announced the signing of an equity acquisition agreement with German pharmaceutical company BioNTech.

The terms of the agreement are attractive: BioNTech will acquire the entire issued share capital of Primis for an upfront payment of $800 million (the purchase price is subject to customary adjustments), mainly in the form of cash and certain American Depositary Shares (ADS). In addition, BioNTech will make an additional milestone payment of up to $150 million (about 1.084 billion yuan) when Primis achieves the mutually agreed milestone conditions.

Shares of BioNTech rose more than 4% after the U.S. market opened. Its shares have risen nearly 30% in the past three months.

Upon completion of the transaction, BioNTech will gain full ownership of Primisi's drug candidate pipeline and bispecial antibody drug development platform, further expanding its business footprint in China. Primis Zhuhai will be BioNTech's R&D center in China for related research and development; The production base of Primis Nantong, which meets international standards, will contribute to BioNTech's future global product production and supply; More than 300 employees from Primis' R&D, production and support functions will join BioNTech.

Prior to the announcement of this acquisition, BioNTech and Primis Bio have entered into two collaborations on bispecific antibody and monoclonal antibody pipelines. In July 2023, BioNTech acquired exclusive global options for a preclinical phase bispecial antibody against malignant tumors and a clinical phase monoclonal antibody; In November 2024, BioNTech acquired the rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize Primis anti-PD-L1 /VEGF bispecific antibody (PM8002) worldwide, excluding Greater China, for an initial payment of $55 million, as well as more than $1 billion in development, registration and commercial milestone payments and tiered sales commissions.