Petri Dish: NIH sends BioNTech notice of default; Intellia ends Regeneron deal

In a week of slow venture funding news in the Boston biotech world, there was still plenty to talk about. In today’s Petri Dish we’ll cover why Replimune Group is shaking up its C-suite, how BioNTech is reacting to a notice of default from the NIH and more. 

Here are more stories you should know from across the state’s life sciences, biotech and medical device industries. 

BioNTech gets notice of default from NIH over Covid vaccines

BioNTech SE has received a notice of default from the U.S. National Institutes of Health for royalties and other amounts allegedly owed on sales of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine. The company disclosed the notice in a securities filing. BioNTech said it disagrees with the NIH and plans to fight allegations about the company’s breach of their license agreement.

BioNTech (Nasdaq: BNTX) is based in Germany but has its North American headquarters in Cambridge. It partnered with pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.

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Intellia opts out of hemophilia B deal

Cambridge-based Intellia Therapeutics Inc. is getting out of a co-development and co-funding agreement it signed with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. back in May 2020. The two companies were working together on gene-editing treatments for hemophilia B. Intellia shared news of its decision in a securities filing. The company said this does not impact any of its other collaborations or agreements with Regeneron, including their work on hemophilia A treatments.

Just last month, the companies announced that they planned to begin in-human trials of a CRISPR/Cas9-based gene-editing treatment for people with hemophilia B.

Replimune makes leadership changes

Replimune Group Inc. (Nasdaq: REPL), a Woburn-based company working on cancer treatments, is shaking up its leadership suite. The company said Sushil Patel will succeed Philip Astley-Sparke as CEO effective April 1, 2024. Patel joined Replimune three years ago and previously was franchise head for lung, skin and rare cancers at Genentech.

Replimune also announced that Robert Coffin, founder, president and chief research and development officer, will move to an advisory role as chief scientist. Paul Bullock was named chief manufacturing officer following the retirement of the company’s chief operations officer, Colin Love. Finally, Replimune said chief business officer Pamela Esposito and chief development operations officer Tanya Lewis will leave their executive positions, but continue to serve as company advisors.

Replimune said it was making these changes ahead of the commercial launch of RP1, an immunotherapy that is pending regulatory submission and approval in anti-PD1 failed melanoma.