Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Covington & Burling and Davis Polk & Wardwell are advising as German vaccine developer BioNTech makes a public offering of its shares, worth around $512 million. 

The placement comes as BioNTech, which in April partnered with the drug giant Pfizer to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, announced it plans to start human trials of its vaccine candidate in 30,000 participants in over 120 sites globally.