Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Eli Lilly and German Startup Collaborating on Cancer Immunotherapies

By Drug Discovery Trends Editor | May 12, 2015

​Pharma giant Eli Lilly and Company and a German startup have reached a highly-incentivized agreement to collaborate on new cancer treatments arming the body’s immune system to fight tumors, the companies announced.

BioNTech AG, headquartered in Mainz, Germany, will receive a $30 million signing fee – and could receive over $300 million for each potential cancer-fighting medicine it produces, in addition to royalties, according to a joint release by the two companies.

The drugs will be immunotherapies – using genomics to target novel tumors and their corresponding T-cell receptors – and then finding ways to arm the immune system to successfully fight off cancer, they said in a release.

“In the past few years, we’ve seen some amazing breakthroughs in immune-oncology; however, we believe these are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Greg Plowman, the vice-president of Lilly Oncology Research.

“Lilly’s expertise and track record make it an ideal collaborator for both companies to leverage the full power of BioNTech’s functional T-cell receptor technologies to develop novel cancer therapies that harness the immune system,” said Ugur Sahin, the CEO of the German company.

READ MORE: An Introduction To Immunotherapy And The Promise Of Tissue Phenomics

Certain, specifically targeted cancer drugs which arm the immune system in some patients have shown promise for the concept. Provenge is the market name for a prostate cancer drug that has shown success even in advanced cases. Herceptin is a breast cancer drug that is effective in certain women.

BioNTech was founded in 2008, and is privately held, the majority by the wealthy Strungmann Family Office. The company says it raised the largest initial financing round in the history of European biopharmaceuticals.

Eli Lilly, based in Indianapolis, is among the largest companies of its kind in the world.


Filed Under: Drug Discovery

 

Related Articles Read More >

Lokavant’s Spectrum v15 uses AI to cut trial-feasibility modeling from weeks to minutes
Prime time for peptide-based drug discovery 
Why smaller, simpler molecular glues are gaining attention in drug discovery
Glass vial, pipette and woman scientist in laboratory for medical study, research or experiment. Test tube, dropper and professional female person with chemical liquid for pharmaceutical innovation
Unlocking ‘bench-to-bedside’ discoveries requires better data sharing and collaboration
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE