{
  "id": 9465273,
  "title": "Pharma: \"Expropriation of one's own company\" - Eklat about the inheritance of Biontech",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/pharma-enteignung-der-eigenen-firma-eklat-um-das-erbe-von-biontech",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-24T02:03:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/biontech-enteignung-der-eigenen-firma-eklat-um-impfstoff-pioniere/100254498.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Biontech founders Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin are in the process of separating from the company they built, with significant problems arising over the division of assets and patents. The two are establishing a new company, Arife, which will be based in Mainz, and are negotiating with Biontech over the transfer of projects and personnel. The talks are complicated and may not be completed before Şahin and Türeci leave Biontech in three months, with some investors welcoming the changes while employees are uncertain about their futures. Biontech has a strong negotiating position, with patents for the compounds held by the company, and a failure to reach an agreement could be more problematic for Şahin and Türeci.",
  "summary": "The founding couple Şahin and Türeci want to start anew with the company Arife, but their separation from Biontech is causing trouble: It's about patents, money and the future of the employees.",
  "key_points": [
    "Biontech founders Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin plan to split and form new entity Arife.",
    "Emotional rift between founders, with Türeci accusing Biontech of appropriation.",
    "Biontech holds patents, giving strong bargaining position in negotiations."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The rift between Biontech's founders and the company's leadership over the division of assets and patents signals a significant change in the company's power dynamics and potentially undermines its commercial success.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}