BioNTech and Autolus announce Strategic Collaboration

08 February 2024

Syncona Ltd, a leading life science investor focused on creating, building and scaling global leaders in life science, notes that its portfolio company, Autolus Therapeutics plc ("Autolus"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, today announced a strategic collaboration with BioNTech SE ("BioNTech"), a next-generation immunotherapy company pioneering novel therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The strategic collaboration is aimed at advancing both companies' autologous CAR-T programs towards commercialisation, pending regulatory authorisations. In connection with the strategic collaboration, the companies entered into a license and option agreement and a securities purchase agreement.

BioNTech has agreed to purchase $200 million of Autolus' American Depositary Shares in a private placement. BioNTech will have a right to appoint a director to the Board of Autolus.

Under the terms of the license and option agreement, BioNTech will make a cash payment of $50 million and is granted the following rights in exchange:

• BioNTech is eligible to receive an up to mid-single digit royalty on obe-cel net sales. Autolus will retain full rights to and control of the development and commercialisation of obe-cel.
• BioNTech has the option to access Autolus' commercial and clinical site network, manufacturing capacities in the United Kingdom and commercial supply infrastructure in a cost-efficient set-up in order to accelerate the development of BNT211 in additional CLDN6+ tumour types. BioNTech plans to have 10 or more ongoing potentially registrational clinical trials in the pipeline by the end of 2024, including its fully owned CLDN6 CAR-T program BNT211 in relapsed or refractory germ cell tumours.
• Autolus will lead the development and commercialisation for AUTO1/22 and AUTO6NG in any oncology indication with BioNTech having an option to support certain development activities and co-commercialise both candidates in certain territories. If BioNTech exercises an option, it will receive a profit share with respect to such exercised product candidate worldwide while Autolus will be eligible to receive an option exercise fee, milestone payments and co-funding of development expenses.
• Autolus granted BioNTech an exclusive license to develop and commercialise therapeutics incorporating certain of Autolus' proprietary binders along with options to license binders and cell programming technology for use in BioNTech's in vivo cell therapy development programs and investigational antibody-drug conjugates. If BioNTech exercises an option, Autolus will be eligible to receive exercise fees and milestones payments, with low-single digit royalties on net sales of the licensed products.

The announcement can be accessed on Autolus' investor website at https://www.autolus.com/investor-relations/news/ and the full text of the announcement from Autolus is contained below.