BioNTech, the biotech company known for its role in developing a COVID-19 vaccine, has agreed to acquire UK-based artificial intelligence (AI) start-up InstaDeep for £562mln.
The deal, the German group's biggest yet, comes after a multi-year collaboration with InstaDeep, which led to the development of an early warning system to predict future variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
BioNTech also participated in a £100mln fundraising round for InstaDeep last year. The acquisition is part of BioNTech's strategy to harness machine learning to improve the drug discovery process, including developing personalised cancer treatments.
The acquisition allows BioNTech to incorporate rapidly evolving AI capabilities of the digital world into its technologies, research, drug discovery, manufacturing, and deployment processes, according to BioNTech CEO, Uğur Şahin.
He also stated that the company's goal is to make BioNTech a technology company where AI is seamlessly integrated into all aspects of its work.
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly looking to AI to accelerate the time-consuming and costly process of discovering new drugs. Partnerships with AI-focused start-ups have been established by companies such as Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb, but this is a rare case of an acquisition in the sector.
According to the Financial Times, BioNTech is reinvesting most of the proceeds from its bestselling COVID-19 vaccine, developed with Pfizer, to pursue its original mission of transforming cancer treatment.
The German drugmaker will pay about £362mln in cash and shares to acquire the remaining InstaDeep shares, with the possibility of performance-based milestone payments worth up to £200mln for InstaDeep shareholders.
The deal comes a week after BioNTech signed an agreement with the UK government, pledging to enrol up to 10,000 patients in clinical trials for so-called cancer vaccines, which aim to teach a patient’s immune system to tackle tumours.