Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, the founders of BioNTech, announced that they will leave their leadership and board positions by the end of 2026. They said the move does not constitute a split from the company, explaining to Handelsblatt (Wednesday edition) that BioNTech is evolving into a full‑fledged commercial pharmaceutical firm while their own main strength lies in research.
“Other forces and expertise need to be brought on board now” Türeci said. “We want to use our super‑powers for medicine in a different way”. After having built two companies, they feel the time is right to create a “third baby”. Their goal is to develop the next generation of mRNA therapies and to pair those advances more closely with artificial intelligence. The new venture will focus on advancing the mRNA technology that, according to Sahin, is far from fully exploited. With AI, future treatments could be designed more precisely, potently and with greater personalization.
BioNTech will concentrate on late‑stage development and commercialization of drugs. Both founders wish to remain involved as shareholders – together holding roughly 15 % of the stock at present – and will keep ties to the original company. Sahin added that BioNTech could also invest in the new firm and, in the future, explore combination studies or other collaborations.
