The UK government is partnering with BioNTech to enrol up to 10,000 patients in clinical trials for advanced cancer treatments, according to the Financial Times,
BioNTech, which developed the best-selling COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with Pfizer, will open a research and development centre in Cambridge, employing 75 staff, as well as an office in London, the paper said.
The company is working on personalised cancer vaccines that aim to utilise patients' immune systems to fight tumours, and may also potentially invest in manufacturing in the UK in the future.
BioNTech's co-founder and chief executive, Uğur Şahin, stated that the investment required to enrol 10,000 patients by 2030 would be "huge" but did not provide a specific figure.
The clinical trials are expected to begin in September, and the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which was the first in the Western world to approve a Covid vaccine in December 2020, will play a key role in the development of the personalised cancer treatments.
BioNTech has been conducting clinical trials of its cancer vaccines since 2012 and aims to have a product ready for approval by 2030, the FT said.