BioNTech co‑founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci announced they will step down by year‑end to start a new company focused on next‑generation mRNA therapeutics. BioNTech said it will grant the unnamed startup certain rights to its mRNA technology in exchange for a minority stake, while BioNTech continues to advance a late‑stage oncology portfolio. The firm described the departures as a planned transition to allow Sahin and Türeci to return to discovery science while the company pursues commercialization of multiple late‑stage cancer programs. BioNTech’s supervisory board has begun a search for successors and said more details on the partnership with the new venture will follow once paperwork is complete. Industry context: Sahin and Türeci led BioNTech’s pivot from oncology to an mRNA COVID‑19 vaccine during the pandemic, establishing mRNA as a validated therapeutic platform. The new company will aim to build on that platform for next‑generation modalities; BioNTech retains strategic interest through technology rights and an equity stake.