£1 billion BioNTech investment sets way for jobs, growth, breakthroughs

Hundreds of highly skilled jobs will be created, and new research centres will be set up aimed at making new advances in medical science, thanks to a planned investment of up to £1 billion into the UK by world-leading biopharmaceutical company BioNTech announced today (Tuesday 20 May).

This is one of the biggest investments in the history of UK life sciences, made possible with government backing – all part of plans to support this growth-driving sector as part of the Plan for Change, and our mission to turbo-charge economic growth in every part of the country.

This historic investment is a testament to the confidence in the UK life sciences – one of the priority sectors of the economy that will form a key part of the forthcoming Industrial Strategy – as a driver of economic growth, job creation, and innovations that could overhaul what's possible in healthcare. The sector is already thriving, worth £108 billion to the economy and providing more than 300,000 highly skilled jobs across the country. But through measures like our commitment to investing up to £520 million in the sector through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, we want to boost UK life sciences to even greater heights, bolstering our ambitions to grow the economy, create jobs, and building on the UK's position as the second-most attractive destination for international investment.

BioNTech will invest in the UK over the course of the next 10 years as part of an ambitious plan to significantly expand their presence here. That will see them create two new R&D hubs, the first to be based in Cambridge, as well as an AI hub to be based at BioNTech's planned UK headquarters in London. These are planned to create more than 400 new highly skilled jobs over the next 10 years, including researchers in clinical and scientific drug development, bioinformatics, and a range of supporting functions. Indirectly, the investment is also likely to create a substantial number of additional jobs in the supply chain.

BioNTech are the pioneering company behind mRNA vaccines and cancer immunotherapies notably used to tackle COVID-19, and more recently trialled to help patients with cancer.

According to the Academy of Medical Sciences, every £1 spent on medical research delivers a return of 25p, every year, forever after that, so the long-term economic impact of an investment in research on this scale, speaks for itself. This is the government's Plan for Change, in action, and shows how our ambitions for the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor are already pulling international investment into the UK.

BioNTech signed an agreement finalising the investment together with Science Secretary Peter Kyle today. As part of the agreement, the government will contribute up to £129 million in grant funding over a period of 10 years.

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:

This investment will propel the growth-driving life sciences sector to new heights, delivering cutting-edge facilities, building careers in the future-facing jobs we want our children to have, and ultimately unlocking progress in medical science that could save lives.

This is a clear indication of how we will deliver the government's Plan for Change: working together with the best and brightest businesses and innovators to unlock their potential, and then reap the benefits for the economy, health and more that their drive and genius can deliver.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said:

This is another testament to confidence in Britain being one of the world's top investment destinations and a global hub for life sciences. It will create hundreds of high-skilled, well-paid jobs, as we deliver on our promise to put more money in working people's pockets through our Plan for Change.

CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, Uğur Şahin, said:

This agreement marks the next chapter of our successful strategic partnership with the UK government. Together, we have already made a meaningful difference in expanding access to investigational personalized cancer therapies for patients. Now, we are taking the next step to accelerate and broaden our research and development efforts advancing towards our vision to translate science into survival for patients.

In Cambridge, BioNTech plans to set up a new R&D centre focused on genomics, oncology, structural biology, and regenerative medicine. In London, BioNTech intends to establish its UK headquarters, which will be home to a new AI hub led by InstaDeep Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of BioNTech SE, and a leading global technology company in the field of AI and machine learning. This hub will enable medical research, using AI, including looking into understanding disease causes, drug target selection and predictive analytics.

Over time, this work could lead to the discovery and development of new therapies, diagnostics and treatments for a range of diseases that currently cause heartbreak for countless patients and their families – all supporting the mission to rebuild the NHS for the long-term, that sits at the heart of the government's Plan for Change.

It also builds on the government's existing strategic partnership with BioNTech, to provide up to 10,000 patients with investigational personalised cancer immunotherapies by 2030. This is already transforming the experience of patients by broadening access to cancer vaccine trials in the UK.

The government's support for BioNTech's investment is a further example of how we are backing the UK's thriving life sciences sector to even greater success – following on from the announcement of the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund at the Autumn Budget, and strategic collaborations agreed with other innovative life sciences companies. We will say more about our vision for a thriving future for UK life sciences in the forthcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan.

Steve Bates, CEO of the UK BioIndustry Association, said:

BioNTech's investment demonstrates the UK's position as a top destination for life sciences innovation and underlines why the government is absolutely right to back our sector as a priority for growth.

BioNTech is not only a pioneer in mRNA science, but also a visionary partner in building a truly unique public-private collaboration with the UK government and NHS – one that sets a benchmark for the world.

The UK has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leverage its strong position to attract investment from global investors to create well-paid jobs and scale UK companies, if the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan can address long-standing structural challenges in the financing and commercial environment.

Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the ABPI, said:

This investment is a testament to the fantastic skills, research capabilities, and scientific infrastructure we have in the UK. It is also a template for how the UK could unlock further life science sector growth by removing the barriers and roadblocks to investment.

Big investments like this are years in the making and require both sides to have confidence that the other will deliver on their commitments. Trust is slow to build, but this deal shows it is worth the time and the risk.

Life science companies are already the largest investors in UK R&D – but much of this comes from a handful of companies with deep UK roots. The UK has an opportunity to capture more of the global science pie if we can improve our competitive offering to the sector.